That Summer
by donna79
Summary: The summer before college everything changes. But can they handle it? A CharlieConnie, PortmanJulie story. Complete!
1. Moving On

Story Title: That Summer 

**Chapter Title: Moving On**

**Summary: The summer before college everything changes. But can they handle it?**

**Paring: Charlie/Connie and Portman/Julie**

AN: I have been wanting to write a MD story for a while. I finally found a plot I liked. I hope like it too, if you do… hit that review button. Please? Feedback is like caffeine, it makes very happy.

They started out as kids doing what they loved. Six years and six extra people later they stood staring at the school that they had come to tolerate. Charlie Conway wasn't one to get sentimental, but he couldn't help but feel nostalgic on this day. They were graduating high school, and in a couple of days they would be scattered across the country all over again. Who knew when they would all be together again? He wanted to make this moment last forever.

"Come on Charlie, it's the last time we'll be walking through here. It won't kill you to be on time once." Adam said breaking Charlie's train of thought.

Adam Banks, he was one of Charlie's best friends. Yet they were nothing alike. Charlie was a fearful leader, where as Adam let things roll of his back. He looked at all of his friends. Or as he liked to call them 'his family', they were a crazy brood. But he loved each of them just the same. Charlie felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Russ. Russ had been a add on, but Charlie had always treated him like they had been friends since birth. He did that with all of them. But he honestly meant it with Russ.

"Can you believe we're graduating?"

"I know, I thought me and you were gonna have to spend another year here." Charlie said draping an arm over Russ's shoulder.

"You two owe me some credit for that one." Connie said coming between them.

Russ draped an arm over her shoulders as Charlie wrapped an arm around her waist.

"We will forever be your servants Connie." Charlie said looking down at her.

"I like the sound of that." She said perking up.

Charlie and Connie had grown up living down the street from each other. It was going to be hard leaving her in the summer. He wouldn't be around to settle fights between her and Guy anymore. Charlie kept her from killing him sometimes. Guy was a good guy, but the guy just brought drama wherever he went sometimes.

XXXX

Inside the school everyone was clearing out their lockers when Julie heard someone call her name.

"Gaffney!"

Julie looked up shaking her head. Fulton and Portman were running at her at full speed.

"Do it and die!" She said knowing what they were going to do.

They sandwiched her between them and wrapped their arms around each other.

"Give it a rest!" She said trying to push them away.

"Aww, where's the love Catlady?" Fulton said messing with her hair.

"I love you guys, you know that. But one of these you're going to squish me!"

"Aww, you don't wanna be part of a Bash Brother sandwich?" Portman said draping an arm over her shoulders.

"Ask Connie." Julie said going through her locker.

"Yeah right, I wanna live to be old enough to drink." Fulton said before walking away.

Julie shook her head wishing she didn't have to leave. She had grown close to the two of them. They were her protectors, even though they both knew she didn't need it. She picked up a jersey realizing that it was Portman's.

"I'm gonna miss you leaving your stinky clothes in my locker." She said throwing at him.

"I'm gonna miss you too." He said pulling her to him.

Julie laughed knowing she would miss him the most. They had been add ons, they had formed a bond that her and Fulton hadn't. She told him things she wouldn't tell anyone else. She hugged him knowing he would soon pull away. He had a reputation to protect. When he didn't pull away Julie looked up at him. He kissed her forehead before pulling away.

"I'll see you outside." He said before walking away.

"Yeah." She said wondering why he was acting so weird.

XXXX

The whole team was crowded together so Casey Conway could get pictures. Connie was on Guys' back and he was looking up at her with a smile on his face. Fulton and Portman had picked up Julie and she was at 'their level' as they called it. Charlie, Adam, and Russ stood back to back with Charlie in the middle giving the camera a serious look.

"Charlie, Adam, Russ you three don't fool me. Smile!" Casey said laughing at her son.

The girls were laughing because Fulton had taken off with Julie on his back and Guy was chasing them with Connie on his. They weren't going to be too many more times like this. Not for a while, so they were taking advantage of it.

"Come on you two, bring the girls back. I only want a few more pictures. Gordon, you should be in these." Casey said nudging him.

Bombay had surprised them by showing up that morning. He had said he didn't want to miss out on seeing 'his team' graduate. He looked at them with pride; they really had come a long way from the kids he remembered.

Casey finally got the pictures she wanted. It always took forever to get them to calm down, seeing as there were so many of them and only one of her. She was glad Gordon was there. She would have been upset if he had missed this.

The group separated with all of them saying that they would meet at Charlie's later. Casey was throwing them a party, which Gordon thought was crazy. Considering all their families would there too. Casey was a saint, and everyone knew it.

XXXX

Julie was sitting on the back steps at Charlie's that night when Connie sat next to her. She put her head on Julie's shoulder and choked back a sob.

"Connie, what's wrong?" Julie asked pulling away to look at her.

"Guy broke up with me." She said letting the tears flow.

"You guys will work through this. You've had rough spots before."

"I think he meant it this time." She said putting her face in her hands.

"What happened?" Julie asked rubbing her friends back.

"Can we get out of here? I don't wanna be here right now."

"Yeah, just let me tell somebody we're leaving. Stay here."

Julie and Connie had always been close. Being the only girls on a hockey team they couldn't help but be friends. They stuck up for each other; they listened to the other's problems. Connie was the sister Julie never head. She found Dwayne standing by himself.

"Hey Cowboy." She said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Jules." He said smiling down at her.

"Me and Connie are gonna take off. Can you tell everybody?"

"Sure."

"Thanks Dwayne. I'll see you tomorrow." She said hugging him.

Julie made her way back to Connie wishing things could be different. She didn't want to leave her friends. But she knew had to grow up sometime. What made it worse was that her dad wasn't there. He had a big case he was working on, and he couldn't take time off. Her brother was away at college and had opted to stay in California for the summer. At least her dad had called to tell her he was proud of her. They were going to celebrate when she got home.

Julie and Connie were at Connie's house when Julie finally got her to tell her what happened.

"He was talking about wanting to get married. And I told him he was crazy. With him leaving for Canada in August to start training and me staying here for college it would never work."

"And you told him that?" Julie asked letting it sink in.

"Yeah." Connie said nodding her head.

"And he broke up with you because you won't marry him?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna kill him. I take that back, Charlie is going to kill him." Julie said thinking of their hot head of a captain.

"Oh my God you're right! What am I gonna do?"

"Just don't worry about it. Their big boys, they can take care of themselves." Julie said trying to calm Connie down.

Half an hour later Connie was asleep while Julie was awake. She couldn't figure out why Portman was acting so strange. He had hardly said two words to her after what had happened in the hallway. Fulton had caught on not long after it happened. Julie didn't know what to tell him. Maybe Portman was having trouble dealing with the fact that it was all over. And he was leaving his friends behind. Julie planned on cornering him tomorrow before they left.

XXXX

Portman stared across the airport watching Julie and Connie talking. He wanted to go over and talk to her but he knew he was risking getting his head bitten off by Connie if he did. He saw Charlie walk up to the girls realizing he had a chance to talk to Julie. He walked up to them and put a hand on Julie's arm.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked looking her in the eye.

"Sure."

"Go, I'll stay with her." Charlie said sitting in the seat Julie just gotten up from.

Portman led Julie through the crowded airport to a table. They sat down and Julie wondered what was going on. She had never seen him like this.

"I know you think I'm acting weird, and I am. I wanted to apologize."

"You don't have to. You're not ready to leave, I know you." She said smiling at him.

"How do you do that?" He asked staring at her.

"It's a gift." She said shrugging her shoulders.

Portman smiled at her wishing she could come with him. He definitely wouldn't be able to make it through the summer without seeing her. Forget her going to college. That was something else, she had refused to talk to him for almost a week when she found out he was taking a year off to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He had four years to decide that and he still didn't know what he wanted.

"I got you something." He said pulling something out of his shirt pocket.

"You didn't have to." She said looking at him.

"I wanted to. You can't open it until you get on the plane though." He said handing her a small box.

"Why not now?" She asked giving him a confused look.

"Because I said so." He said sounding like the Portman she knew.

Fulton saw them and smiled. He had always thought they would be together by now. They had skated around the edges for years, but had never done anything about it. If they didn't act on it soon he would have to do something about it.

An hour later Russ and Kenny were the first to leave. They said goodbye to everyone stopping at the girls to hug them. Russ picked Connie up off the floor whispering in her ear. She smiled then nodded.

"Take care Catlady." He said pulling Julie in for a hug.

"See ya Russ." She said taking his hat.

"You keep that."

"I'll think of you when I wear it." She said putting it on.

"I'm next." Kenny said stepping where Russ had just been.

"I'll see you in August." She said pulling him in for a hug.

"Yeah, who knew we'd both get into UCLA?"

"Not me." She said smiling.

Dwayne was next to leave telling everyone he didn't want to hug them one at a time.

"Group hug y'all! Don't make me break out my rope!" He said making everyone laugh.

Luis was next and he couldn't say anything. He was speechless.

"Come on Casanova." Julie said pulling him over to her and Connie.

"We'll keep in touch." Connie said rubbing his back as he hugged her.

He nodded not saying anything to the guys. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at all of them. The guys started laughing knowing he was faking it.

"You jerk!" Connie said throwing ice at him.

Portman was next and he pulled Connie into a hug.

"You take care of yourself. And don't hand me that 'I can handle him' shit. I know he hurt you. You let me know if you need me to beat him down."

Connie laughed nodding. She had never known him to act like this. He had never even hugged her before. A hand on the shoulder yeah, but this was the closest she had ever come. She watched as he pulled Julie and Fulton off to the side. She never would have thought Julie would become friends with either of them. But she was glad she had.

Portman and Fulton made stupid faces as Julie took their picture.

"Come on you two be serious." She said rolling her eyes.

They gave her puppy dog eyes making her laugh then roll her eyes. She took the picture anyway. Leave it to those two to make her laugh when she was trying to be serious. Fulton walked away leaving Portman to say goodbye to Julie. He picked her up off the ground and looked into her eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you." He whispered.

"We can always e-mail each other. And I'd feel offended if you didn't call me." She said looking at him.

He nodded not wanting to put her down.

"If you don't leave, you're gonna miss your flight."

He put her down but didn't let go of her.

"Take care Jules." He said hugging her.

"You too." She said sighing.

He pulled away and started down the terminal. Julie watched him not noticing that Fulton had come up beside her.

"I'm gonna miss him too." He said draping an arm over her shoulder.

"I know." She said watching Portman walk away.

"Did I see him give you something earlier?"

"Yeah. I'm not allowed to look at it until I get on my plane though."

"Can I see it? I won't tell you what it is."

"Sure." She said pulling it out of her bag.

A little while later Julie's flight was called. She looked around at the rest of her friends. Adam, Charlie, Fulton and Connie were still there. Goldberg had left early that morning to go to Philadelphia, and Averman had to leave because he had to work. Jesse had even showed up. She had grown close to these people, Jesse included. They were her family.

"You're always last Gaffney." Adam said stepping in front of her.

"See ya Banksie." She said hugging him.

"I've gotta go through this again?"

"Shut up and hug me Jess." She said smiling at him.

"See ya around." He said messing up her hair.

"Come here Captain Spazway." She said pulling Charlie to her.  
"Take care of her." She whispered in his ear.

"I will." He said kissing her cheek before he pulled away.

Fulton stood off to the side waiting for his turn. He handed her the box and let her put back in her bag before he pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"If I ever had a sister I'd want her to be like you."

"Thanks Fult." She said brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes.

"Take care of your yourself."

"You too." She said before pulling away.

They all watched her walk away. Each of them had made an impact on each other's lives. They were going to stay friends even if it killed them. Julie looked over her shoulder waving one last time before she turned the corner. She found her seat and waited for the plane to take off before she reached for her bag. She felt around for the box before pulling it out. Inside she found a pair of Sapphire earrings. She had tears in her eyes as she read the note that came with them. '_I saw these and thought of you. I hope you like them. Don't forget me, because I won't forget you. Dean'_

**AN2: Well, that's the first chapter; I know it's a little long. But most first chapters are. Let me know what you think. I'm a big girl I can take it.**


	2. Defining the Word Friends

**Chapter Title: Defining the Word Friends**

AN: I just realized that I made the last chapter sound like that they would never see each other again. I'm sorry so sappy, but obviously I did something right if you liked it. That happened at my high school graduation too. I didn't know when I would see most of my friends again. So yeah it was a little emotional.

Charlie stared out the window watching Connie skate down the street. She had been going up and down the street pausing out front of his apartment for half an hour. Sometimes she could be really subtle. He grabbed his skates then made his way outside. Connie was coming back up the street when he met up with her. She smiled at him before putting her head on his shoulder. They skated in silence through the neighborhood. He had always been there for her. It didn't help that it had always made Guy jealous when she would tell Charlie things about their relationship. The three of them had known each other since preschool. Fulton and Jesse couldn't even say that. It also didn't help that Connie was constantly putting Charlie between her and Guy when the fought. But Charlie wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. His best friends meant the world to him.

"He still hasn't called." Connie said breaking the silence.

"Maybe that's a good thing. Take some time to just be yourself. You've been 'Connie, Guys girlfriend' for six years." He said trying to reason with her.

"Maybe you're right. I mean, it was good while it lasted."

"And who says it won't happen again?"

"I'll never date him again. We both know that." She said taking her head off of his shoulder to look up at him.

"I don't mean with Guy. You could meet some guy tomorrow and fall in love with him."

"It's nice to think about. But it sucks ya know? He's all I've ever known."

"I know." Charlie said draping an arm over her shoulders.

They fell back into silence again as they skated down Main Street. They saw Goldberg sweeping out front of his parents Deli and he waved as they passed him. They waved back not saying anything. They had always been like this, always comfortable with the silence. Connie didn't have to explain herself to Charlie. And he knew she would except that he would rather just be with her than talk. They would eventually tell each other what was wrong. No one else understood that.

XXXX

Julie was bored. After her first week back everything had gone back to normal. Her dad was hardly at home. He meant well, but he was never there when she needed him. Her mom had died when she was a baby, so it had always been her dad, her brother Jason and her. She was used to it, but she wished she had someone to talk to. Being in the house alone was starting to get old. Her dad had suggested that she go out with friends. But most of them of them had plans of their own. And she wasn't as close to them as she used to be. She logged on to her computer to check her e-mail when she heard the ping that someone was instant messaging her.

HockeyStud21: Jules!

GoalieBabe83: Hey buddy! I haven't heard from you.

HockeyStud21: Yeah, well I haven't heard from you either.

GoalieBabe83: True, how have you been?

HockeyStud21: Bored. I miss you already.

GoalieBabe83: Aww, back at cha. Thanks for the earrings btw.

HockeyStud21: You like them?

GoalieBabe83: I love them! But you didn't have to get me anything.

HockeyStud21: I wanted to. Listen, I've gotta go. But I'll call you later.

GoalieBabe83: Okay, ttyl.

Julie smiled as she closed her IM screen. She was glad she had talked to him. He was the only one she hadn't talked to yet. She had talked to Fulton three times yesterday. And she had talked to Jesse minutes before she talked to Portman. She sighed plopping down on her bed. She wished she talk to him in person, she didn't like being away from him. She didn't know when it happened, but it had.

XXXX

Portman had been putting off talking to Julie for a reason. He always hated telling her goodbye. Even when they were in school he would wait until the last minute before lights out to leave her room. Her opinion on things mattered. He always took what she had to say to heart. Just like with Fulton, but with Julie it was different. He couldn't explain it. They were so much alike, they had both lost a parent at a early age. He hadn't taken losing his dad easy. Granted he wasn't as young as Julie was when her mom died, but he still dealt with all the stress she had to. He became the man of the house at thirteen. He had held off going to Eden Hall because his mom was having trouble with his brother and sister. He always worried about them; he would be the last person to admit that though. He had a reputation to protect.

He knew he was being stupid and he needed to tell her what was going on. But he didn't deal with rejection well. No girl had ever rejected him. But there was a first time for everything. His phone rang breaking him from his thoughts. He grabbed running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Hey man."

"Fulton."

"I just talked to Julie."

"Yeah? What did she have to say?"

"That you haven't called her. But that you talked on the computer."

"If you have something to say just spit out man." Portman said knowing where this was going.

"You need to tell her."

"I do not, I don't like her like that."

"Yes you do, stop lying."

"I'm not!" Portman sighed, he knew his best friend was right.

"Do I need to knock some sense into you?" Fulton asked when he heard a sigh.

"You can't take me on. I know you're not that crazy." Portman said laughing.

"Don't change the subject. You need to be honest with her."

"I know. I just don't know how to tell her."

"I thought you were getting somewhere when you gave her the earrings."

"You know about those?" Portman asked letting it sink in.

"I saw you give her the box. Then I asked if I could see them. I didn't tell her what they were."

"It would easier if she were here." He said flopping down on the couch.

"Nothing in life is easy." Fulton said before he heard a grunt.

Portman pulled his six-year-old brother off of him. The little boy ran away laughing. He got off the phone with Fulton a few minutes later. He hated it when Fulton was right, and he always was.

XXXX

Charlie was at the skate shop working when Connie came in. She hoped up on the counter and looked down at him.

"You want some help?"

"Yeah. Jess was supposed to come in. But he called in at the last minute." Charlie said not looking up from the blade sharpener.

"I'm not using that." Connie said pointing to the machine Charlie was using.

"I don't expect you to. You can set up the display. We got a new shipment of sticks in yesterday." He said over his shoulder.

They worked in silence until the bell above the door rang. Charlie looked up to see Guy come in.

"Jesse called and asked me to take his shift." He said stopping just inside the door.

"I've got it taken care of." Charlie waving him off.

Guy still hadn't seen Connie yet. She had ducked behind a shelf so he wouldn't see her.

"You sure?" Guy said walking up to the counter.

"Yeah, I'll call you if I need you." Charlie said nodding his head.

Connie let out a sigh of relief when he left. She got out of her hiding place as Charlie started clucking like a chicken. She threw a puck at him and he ducked at the last second. He laughed as she climbed over the counter.

"Thanks Charlie." She said hugging him.

"What would you have done if I had told him he could stay?"

"I would have snuck out the side door." Connie said laughing.

Charlie shook his head as he held onto her. He didn't know what he would do without her sometimes. He depended on her just as much as she depended on him. When he had broken up with Linda the year before Connie was the one who had been there for him. The rest of team hadn't known what to do when they found out Linda had cheated on him. Not even Adam and Russ could get through to him. But Connie had been persistent, she never gave up on Charlie. And then one night he had broken down and cried for half an hour while Connie held him and rubbed his back. She had never told anyone. It wasn't their business, that's how she saw it.

He knew she would be okay, once the shock wore off. He didn't plan on leaving her alone with Guy anytime soon. The poor guy would probably end up dead if that happened.

XXXX

Later that night Julie was watching TV when the phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID and smiled when she saw Portman's number.

"What Dean?" She said knowing he hated being called that.

"You are one of the only people that can get away with that." He said knowing she could call him 'asshole' and he would still answer. But she never would.

"So do you have a reason for calling?"

"I can't call just to talk to you?"

"I guess." She said smiling.

"What are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing." She said turning off the TV with a sigh.

"You alone again?"

"Yeah."

"It's better than babysitting." He said as his brother threw a ball at his head.

"I feel so bad for you." She said laughing.

"Liar." He said smiling.

"Okay yeah, I don't." She said teasing him.

"Thanks a lot!" He said sounding hurt.

"Aww, poor Portman has to baby-sit his kid brother. Where's Hannah?"

"On a date. I don't like the guy either."

"You never like any of her boyfriends. It's the brother thing. Jason has never liked any of my boyfriends either."

"He didn't like Scooter? He was a total brown noser, he even reminded me of Jason."

"That's why Jason didn't like him." Julie said rolling his eyes.

"You need to date a guy you know he'll hate. Just to make him freak out."

"A guy like you?" She asked teasing him again.

"What's wrong with me!" He asked laughing.

"Nothing, he actually likes you."

"See, Jason doesn't hate everybody." He said being serious.

"It's late here, I'm gonna go to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, get some sleep."

"I'm gonna try."

"Night Catlady."

"Night Port." She said yawning.

She hung up the phone with a sigh. She hated cutting him off like that. But the conversation was getting too real for her. She wished he was there for the fifth time that day. She walked into her room and got ready for bed. She drifted off to sleep thinking of a certain tall, dark haired, very good-looking enforcer.

XXXX

Connie helped Charlie clean up after the shop closed. She didn't want to be alone, but yet she wasn't ready to talk. She knew Charlie would understand that. They walked home without saying a word. They stopped in front of her house and Charlie turned to her. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck wondering why he was being so nice. If it had been anyone else he would have told them to go somewhere else.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"Because you need me." He said looking down at her.

"You're not like this with anyone else."

"I haven't known them as long as I've known you."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." She said nodding.

"G'night."

"'Night Charlie." Connie said before pulling away.

Charlie watched as Connie walked up the stairs. She stopped just before she opened the door and looked over her shoulder at him. She gave him a small wave before opening the door. He smiled at her just before she walked inside. He made his way down the street with his hands in his pockets. No one had ever understood their friendship. He had known her the longest, and since they lived so close to each other they had never gone a day without seeing each other. He could remember walking to school with her when they were kids. They would laugh and joke and pick on each other relentlessly. They still did that, but not as much as they used to.

AN2: I'm really bad about IMing people. Everybody thinks I'm weird for not using the lingo and everything. I do, but I have serious issues with using the letter u for the word you. I always type it out. And I've never understood the whole 'l8er' thing. But I don't mind if people use them. It's just a habit of mine. I do use some of them though. Let me know what you think. BTW I know Julie's jersey number isn't 83. I used the used the year I'm guessing she was born. I didn't want to confuse you guys.


	3. Things Left Unsaid

**Chapter Title: Things Left Unsaid**

**Disclaimer: I just realized I hadn't done one yet. I don't own them, sad but true. It's nice to think about though.**

AN: I cannot begin to tell you guys how fun it is to write this. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I'm glad you guys like it.

Guy wasn't stupid, he knew Charlie was avoiding him because of Connie. He felt bad enough as it was. And then every time he turned around someone was bringing up that Charlie and Connie were always together. He knew he shouldn't be jealous; it was Charlie for crying out loud. The three of them had been friends for years. But deep down Guy could tell it was something more. It always had been, Guy wasn't as close to Charlie as Connie was. The two of them had grown up down the street from each other while Guy lived one town over. Charlie gave her something Guy never could. And Guy had yet to figure out what it was.

He needed to get out of the house. He only left to go to work, but where would he go? Who would he go with? Nobody was talking to him. He heard a knock on his door and ran a hand through his hair before answering it. He was surprised to see Fulton on the other side.

"Hey." He said not knowing what else to say.

"I was in the neighborhood. And I thought you might want to shoot some pucks."

"With you?"

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Fulton said giving him a weird look.

"Dude we hardly ever talk. I thought you were on Connie's side."

"I'm not on anybodies side. And about not talking to you much, sorry about that."

"It's not a problem."

"You and Connie were always attached at the hip, it made me uncomfortable."

"The big bad Bash Brother was afraid of us?" Guy said shoving him.

"I didn't say that. I'm not used to people making out right in front of me 24/7."

"We did do that didn't we? Since you put it that way I see what you mean." He said as they skated down the street.

The two of them laughed as they skated down the street. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

XXXX

Connie watched as Charlie skated through the schoolyard with Jess and Averman. Things had changed between them the night he walked her home. It had been three weeks since it happened and Charlie still wouldn't talk to her about it. She had never seen him as anything more than a friend. But after that night they had crossed some kind of invisible line. She knew he had noticed it. _Damn you for being stupid Conway, I hate you sometimes. _Okay, so maybe she didn't hate him. But she did want to shake some sense into him.

"Aren't you gonna play?" Charlie asked stopping in front of her.

"No. I don't feel like it."

"Then why'd you come?" Averman asked skating up to them.

"Because I felt like it." She said getting up.

"Please don't hurt me!" He said jumping behind Charlie.

Connie shook her head with a sigh.

"I'm gonna go. I have to get home." She said picking up her skates.

"Cons, hold up." Charlie said skating after her.

She stopped wishing he hadn't come after her. Why did he always have to make things difficult? She turned to him as he stopped a few feet away from her.

"What?" She asked folding her arms over her chest.

"You don't have to leave." He said looking her in the eye.

"I just don't feel like hanging out right now." She said looking at the ground.

He knelt so that she was looking him in the eye.

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I know you, something's wrong."

"I don't want to talk about it." _ More like you don't._ She thought trying not to cry.

"I can come by later if you want." He said putting his hands on her shoulders.

Even if he wouldn't admit it, his body language screamed he knew what was going on. That was the only thing that made going through all of this worth it. Connie hoped he didn't wait too long. She nodded giving in, she never knew if she was coming or going with him lately. He skated away when she didn't say anything else. What was she getting herself into?

XXXX

Julie was at work that afternoon when her boss said someone was on the phone for her. She knew she would get a lecture when she got off the phone. Maybe she could make it short.

"Hello?"

"Hey Catlady!"

"Russ! How's my partner crime?" She said remembering all the times they had gotten in trouble together over the years.

"Not the same without you."

"Is there a reason why you called me? At work?"

"Sorry about that. I just talked to Charlie, he thinks something's wrong with Connie. And he wants you to call her. I told him I'd pass along the message."

"I guess I can call her later."

"Take care of yourself."

"I will. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

She ignored the evil look her boss was giving her and went back to work. She hoped she wouldn't fire her. She needed this job to pay for college. She had promised her dad that she would pay for half of her tuition. Even though he told her she didn't have to. She didn't want to lean on her dad like her brother did. She just wished that she had applied for the scholarship she wanted sooner. Maybe then she would have gotten it. It was just something else for her to worry about.

She sighed knowing she was in over her head. She needed someone to talk to about all of this. But she couldn't think of anyone who would understand what she was going through. Okay, so there was one person. But he was half way across the country in Chicago. She was over wishing that he was there, she knew she couldn't ask him to pack up and leave his family just because she missed him. Talking to him would just have to do.

Her boss told her to go home because they were dead and Julie didn't argue with her. She could handle the lunch and dinner rush easy. But she couldn't stand it when the restaurant was empty. She pulled out her phone as she clocked out. She dialed his number without looking because she knew it so well.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hannah."

"Hey Jules!" The seventeen year old nearly yelled into the phone.

"Where is he?"

"He's at work. He won't be home for a couple hours."

"Can you tell him I called?"

"Sure."

"Thanks sweetie. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

Julie closed her phone with a sigh. Maybe she should Connie, it would do good to have a girl's perspective. It was time like this when Julie wished she had a sister. She opened her phone again dialing the number from memory.

"Hello?"

"Hey Cons."

"Thank God! I was just about to call you."

"Us girls have that telekinetic thing going for us don't we?"

"No, we just both have guy problems."

"Is Guy bothering you?"  
"I wish it were that easy. But no, my problem goes deeper than Guy." She said with a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"Something happened between me and Charlie. He won't admit though."

"Do you think he knows what's going on?"

"Oh he knows, he just won't admit that he's into me!"

"Whoa, okay you need to explain." Julie said opening her car door.

"It all started three weeks ago…"

Connie gave her the Reader's Digest version knowing that Julie was driving. She didn't want her to have an accident or anything. Portman would come to Minneapolis and kill her himself if anything happened to Julie.

"And he's been touchy feely, and yet he won't talk about it?"

"Exactly."

"He so likes you." Julie said laughing.

"I know! I just wish he'd admit it."

"Maybe you should talk to someone there. Maybe one of the Ducks."

"Yeah, right. They all got uncomfortable when you and me would walk in our sports bras and short shorts! You think they would understand what's going on?"

"It's worth a shot. Tell you what, talk to Jess and Fulton. Fulton was comfortable around us. And Jess knows Charlie almost as well as you do."

"Jules you're the best. Thanks."

"Anytime." Julie said pulling up to her house.

She shut her phone for the second time in half an hour as she walked into the house. She hoped Connie and Charlie were able to work things out.

XXXX

Connie sat on Fulton's back deck listening to Jess ramble on and on about what she should do. She should have known he would have an opinion. She had known him for years, and he had an opinion on everything!

"Jess I get the point. But if I'm upfront with him I might scare him off."

"I'm not saying go Velvet Hammer on him, just be cool about it."

"Even though I want to strangle him?"

"Maybe you shouldn't tell him that." Fulton said coming out of the house.

"What do you think I should do Fult?"

"I agree with Jess, you should be honest with him. But don't push him, he'll eventually tell you."

"If I wait for him I'd be old and gray before he admits to anything!"

"Then try something different." Fulton said being the voice of reason.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked giving him a weird look.

"Who says you can't make the first move?" He asked staring at her.

Connie liked that idea. She jumped off the stairs and turned to her two friends.

"Thanks you guys. You've really helped." She said before walking away.

Jess and Fulton looked at each other with worried looks. They just hoped things didn't blow up in their faces.

XXXX

Julie was listening to music when her dad knocked on the door that night. She opened it and he handed her the phone.

"It's Dean." He said before walking away.

"Hey." She said shutting the door.

"Hey yourself."

"So you're finally calling me back?"

"I was tired when I got in. I laid down for a little while first."

"Well sleep is more important than talking to me." She said with a smile.

"Not that much more."

"So how have you been? I haven't talked to you in a couple days."

"Busy, every time I call you you're either working or sleeping."

"It's the same thing with you."

"Whoever said saving money for college was easy was dead wrong."

"You can say that again." She said with a sigh.

"Any plans this weekend?"

"No, I'm actually off this weekend."

"How'd you get that lucky?"

"Jason's coming into town. He's bringing his new girlfriend home to meet dad and me."

"Sounds exciting." He said exciting.

"Don't be a smart ass. Or you just might get a play by play of what happened the next time I e-mail you."

"Do it and I'm never speaking to you again!"

"You would never do that. You'd miss me too much."

"True. Have you talked to Fulton lately?"

"Yesterday. He called you a pansy, why would he say that?"

"It's a story for another time. I'm gonna let you go. I need to get dinner started."

"Being the man of the house is hard work huh?" She asked smiling.

"Now who's the smart ass?" He asked sounding threatening.

"You don't scare me."

"Seriously I need to go."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Later Jules."

Julie hung up feeling better, she always did after she talked to him. She was finding it hard not to tell him how she felt. She knew she needed to be upfront with him, but she was having trouble finding the right words.


	4. Making the first Move

Chapter Four: Making The First Move 

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them… By the way Charlie and Portman told me to tell you guys hi. Ya know, cause they're in the shed. **

AN: Obviously some of you like the idea of a girl making the first move. I can't say that I blame you. Because a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

Portman stared at the phone willing himself to call her. It shouldn't be this hard; they were friends. Okay, so he thought of her as more than just a friend. But he couldn't act on it. He was almost positive she didn't feel the same way. That didn't mean that he couldn't flirt with her. Right? He dialed her number hoping she was home.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey." She said with a smile.

"Are you busy?" He asked hoping she wasn't.

"I've always got time for you."

"Good, because I wanted to ask you something." He said sounding serious.

"Ask away."

"What are you wearing?" He asked still sounding serious.

"Right now? I'm not wearing anything. I just got out of the shower."

"Don't tease me." He said groaning.

"I'm being serious. Why do you think it took me so long to answer the phone?"

"You're mean!" He said with a laugh.

"I know, but I can get away with it right?"

"Absolutely."

"Good, because I'd hate to have to kill you." She said sounding threatening.

"I'd love to see you try." He said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I'd kill myself in the process. Seeing as you're massive!" She said with a laugh.

"Hey! I can't help it if I'm tall." He said with a laugh.

"Whatever you say Lurch." She said calming down.

"Okay, can you stop picking on me? Where's the love Jules?"

"Oh I love you, but it doesn't mean I can't pick on you." She said with wide eyes.

Did she just say that? Maybe he wouldn't take it the way she meant it.

"Did you just say that you loved me?" He asked breaking through her thoughts.

"Not the way you think." She said saving herself.

"Oh, okay." He said sounding distant.

He heard her dad say that he needed to use the phone so he knew he had one last chance before he got off the phone.

"Hey Jules?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too." He said holding his breath.

He heard her let out a laugh then her dad call her name.

"I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah."

He hung up the phone with a smile. He was he finally knew where he stood.

XXXX

Connie was standing outside Charlie's wringing her hands together. She had been standing out there for what seemed like forever. She was about to turn around when the door opened. Charlie was standing in front of her rubbing his eyes.

"You were asleep, sorry. I can come back." She said turning to walk down the stairs.

"Connie wait." He said reaching out to her.

He pulled her inside with a sigh. Maybe he was ready to deal with what was going on.

"Give me five minutes. I'm gonna get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"No." She said with a sigh.

She threw her hands up in frustration. There he goes again, avoiding the subject. She really wished he would stop messing with her. It made her not want to do what she came over here to do. He came back into the room with a bowl of cereal. Connie shook her head when he offered her a bite.

"So what's up?" He asked sitting the bowl on the table.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay." He said turning to face her.

"I know you know something is going on with us."

"Connie…"

"No just listen. You may not want to deal with it but I do. I don't want things to go back to the way they were."

He looked at his hands not knowing what to say. He wanted to walk away, but Connie meant more to him than that. Yeah, he had known things had changed. He just wasn't ready to act on them. He had hoped Connie wasn't going to force him into something he wasn't ready for. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Connie leaned in her lips inches from his. She brushed her lips against his hoping he didn't push her away. She smiled against his lips when he didn't make a move to push her away. She pulled away when she heard him sigh.

"I know things have changed. But I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Don't you think I'm scared of that to?"

"I know you are. But I can't."

"Fine. You know where to find me when you change your mind."

And then she walked out the front door. Charlie put his head in his hands knowing he was hurting her. That was the last thing he wanted. But he wasn't ready to deal with things. He had a friendship to think about, not only with Connie. But with Guy too. He would be the one that got hurt in all of this. Connie had to know that.

XXXX

Julie was lying by the pool that afternoon when the phone rang. She checked the number and noticed that it was Connie.

"Hey you." She said answering the phone.

"Hey." Connie said sounding depressed.

"Have you talked to him?"

"I think I made it worse." She said with a sigh.

"How?"

"I kissed him."

"Cons, what happened?"

"That just it. Nothing happened! Yeah he admitted he felt it too. But he won't act on it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." She said sighing again.

"I have some good news if you want to hear it."

"Spill."

"Well, I accidentally told Dean that I loved him."

"Tell me everything."

"He likes me too."

"I told you so!" She said with a laugh.

"I know, but you know me. I'm a chicken." She said glad that her friend was laughing.

They talked for a few more minutes before Julie got off the phone. She sighed laying back down on her towel. She wished things could be better for Connie and Charlie. But things were starting to fall into place. She was glad that Connie had made the first move. Whoever told her to do that was really smart. At least in Julie's eyes they were. And then her thoughts turned to Portman. She had made the first move with him too, without realizing she had done it until it was too late. She was glad that he wasn't playing games with her or messing with her head. She was going to have to call Charlie; maybe she could talk some sense into him. It couldn't hurt. She opened her phone again dialing his number. She needed to start charging those two for the minutes they were costing her.

"Hello?"

"Hey Conway."

"Oh, hey Julie." He said with a sigh.

"Hey to you too."

"Sorry, I'm just don't feeling like talking right now."

"Then you can listen. I just got off the phone with Connie."

She heard him sigh knowing she had his attention.

"Do you know what she told me?"

"No."

"She said that she poured her heart out to you and you pushed her away."

"You don't know what's going on."

"Yes I do, she's told me all about it. You need to do something before you push her away completely."

"I would never do that!" He said getting defensive.

"I know, but just be careful."

"Yeah. I've gotta go." He said sighing again.

"I don't want anymore calls from her telling me that you're being an ass. Do you understand?"

"Yes Catlday."

"It's Miss Catlady to you."

"You really need to talk to Portman more. Or get him up there. I can't deal with Drill Sergeant Julie!" He said whining.

"Just be glad I'm not there." She said with a smile.

She hung up the phone thinking that he was right. Her dad had noticed that she was more on edge. He had suggested that she invite some of the Ducks to see her. That wasn't a bad idea.

AN2: Sorry this chapter is so short. But a lot happens in the next chapter. But first you have to let me know what you think of this one. Hit that review button people! Please? I'll be your best friend.


	5. Taking a Leap of Faith

Chapter Title: Taking a Leap of Faith 

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them, sorry to burst your bubble.**

AN: I have a feeling you guys will like this chapter. So on with it! 

Charlie stood outside her house trying to force himself to walk up and knock on the door. He had been having this argument with himself ever since Connie came over. He had taken Julie's advice and decided to just go with it. If something happened then they deal with it later.

"Charlie?"

"Hey Banks." He said with a sigh.

"Still can't knock on the door?" Adam asked stopping in front of Connie's house.

"I don't know what to say." Charlie said putting his hands in his pockets.

"Do you want some advice?"

"Julie gave me some already." He said cringing.

"I heard. Look, just be honest with her. She's not going to push you away."

"I know."

"Charlie, Adam? Are you two looking for Connie?" Connie's mom asked walking down the driveway.

"I was." Charlie said smiling at her.

"She's not here. I think she said something about going over to Tammy's."

"Thanks." Charlie said before walking away.

"Come on man. We need to talk." Adam said putting a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

XXXX

Portman was going crazy. He hadn't been able to talk to Julie since he had told her he loved her. Every time he tried to call her she was asleep, at work, or the phone was busy. Having her so far away was not helping. He walked into his house taking off his work shirt.

"Julie called!" Hannah yelled from the living room.

He grabbed the phone as he flopped down his bed. The phone rang three times before the answering machine kicked in. He left a message before throwing the phone onto his bed. He had to do something before he lost it completely.

"I'm going out. I won't be back until late." He said before walking out the door.

All he had to do was talk to someone who would understand. Fulton was out of the question. He was a good guy, but people talking about their relationship problems freaked him out most of the time. Who else could he call? Everybody else would think he was crazy. It was time like this when he wished his dad was still alive.

XXXX

Julie groaned as she took off her shoes. She was so tired she couldn't even think straight. She saw the message light blinking on the answering machine so she pressed play. There was a message from her dad saying that he wouldn't be home until late. And that he didn't want her to wait up. Not that she would. Her brother was next, telling her what time his flight came in tomorrow. And then his voice came on. He sounded just as frustrated as she was. She shook her head as she grabbed the phone. She dialed his number hoping he was there.

"Hello?"

"Hey Justin."

"Catlady!" He said excitedly.

"Where's your big brother?"

"Not here. I haven't seen him all day."

"Is that Julie?" Hannah asked in the background.

"Put her on the phone okay?"

"Hey Jules."

"Where is he?" She asked getting agitated.

"I haven't seen him since early this afternoon. He didn't say when he would be back."

"Ask him to call me in the morning. I'm gonna go to bed." She said as thoughts raced through her mind.

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye."

She lay in bed wondering what was going on. It wasn't like him to just disappear. She'd talk to him in the morning. But right now, she couldn't help but be worried. She knew she wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.

XXXX

Jesse and Averman stood at Connie's door waiting for someone to answer. Connie opened the door and gave them a weird look.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We can't come to see you?" Averman asked looking hurt.

"We wanted to know if you wanted if you wanted to get something to eat with us." Jesse said smacking Averman upside the head.

Connie shook her head laughing at her two friends.

"Sure. Give me twenty minutes."

"Why don't you meet us there? We gotta go get Fulton." Jesse said walking down the stairs.

"Meet us at Mickey's!" Averman called over his shoulder.

Connie sighed when he said that. That meant Charlie would be there. She hoped things wouldn't be too weird. She shut the door and went to get ready. It was going to be a long night.

Fifteen minutes later she was standing outside Mickey's. She could see Casey inside moving from table to table. Casey saw her and motioned for her to come inside.

"You don't have to wait out there." Casey said once Connie was inside.

"I'm just waiting for everybody else."

"So is Charlie." She said pointing down to the end of the counter.

Connie sat a few seats away from him without saying a word. She couldn't force herself to look at him. If she did she didn't know what she would do. Half an hour past and no one had shown up. Casey walked up to them and rolled her eyes.

"Jesse just called. They're not coming. He said you two should do something though."

_Damn you Hall!_ Connie thought as she shook her head. She finally looked over at Charlie and he smiled at her.

"Do you want to do something?"

"Are you sure?" She asked hoping he wouldn't back out.

"Yeah. We could go for a walk." He said getting up.

Connie followed him and they walked in silence. She wished he would say something, he was starting to make her nervous.

"Connie?" He asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She said not looking at him.

"Look at me."

"I can't." She whispered hoping she wouldn't cry.

"Please?" He said standing in front of her.

She looked up and the next thing she knew he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist smiling against her lips. Her nervous laugh was lost as his tongue slid into her mouth. Her hands were in his hair as the kiss deepened. He pulled away giving her a nervous smile.

"Remind me to thank Jesse and Averman later." She said once she found her voice.

He nodded not letting go of her. He needed to thank them too, but he could do that later. Right now he wanted to be with her.

"So are things okay with us now?" She asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

XXXX

Portman made his way through the house hoping he would be able to find her room. They had moved since he had he last come to see her. He opened a door seeing that it was an office. He shut the door and moved onto the next one. The room was almost dark because the curtains were pulled but he could see that someone was in the bed. He didn't see her dad's car in the driveway so he knew it wasn't him. He pulled the curtains open then turned to look at her. He smiled when she threw her arm over her face.

"Julie." He said squatting next to the bed.

Her eyes flew open as she pulled her arm away. She couldn't believe he was in front of her. She stared at him holding her breath. She had to be dreaming. She blinked a few times letting her eyes adjust. He was still there.

"You okay?"

"I thought I was dreaming." She said finally trusting herself to speak.

"Move over." He said standing up.

She scooted over letting him lay next to her. It was something that they had done hundreds of times before. She lay her head on his chest like she always did and he played with her hair. But this time it was different. She looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"Hey." She said just above a whisper.

"Hey." He said smiling down at her.

"I was so mad at you last night. And now I don't even remember why." She said laughing.

"I had to see you." He said brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes.

"You were going crazy too?"

"You have no idea." He said as she leaned over him.

"Actually I do."

He pulled her to him letting her weight fall on him. She kissed him letting her arms rest at his sides. His hands moved across her shoulders, down her back to rest on her ass. He groaned as they broke the kiss.

"I might have to do that again." He said against he neck.

"I'll let you." She said giggling as he nipped at her ear.

"Good, because I was going to do it anyway." He said brushing his lips against hers again.

Julie lay on top of him as he ran his hands down her sides. She would never doubt him again.

**AN2: I know, it's sappy. I'm in a sappy mood today. Let me know if you guys like it.**


	6. Finding Out and Bragging Rights

**Chapter Title: Finding Out and Bragging Rights**

AN: I see so much happening with this story. And I hope like it. I don't see this as a long drug out story though. So don't expect that. I hope you guys like this. Let me know what you think.

Guy couldn't believe what he had seen. He had to be imagining things. Connie and Charlie? Kissing? What the hell was going on? He had to keep himself in check, because what he really wanted to do was go up to Charlie and pound the crap out of him. He was surprised had kept himself in check. It was the next morning and he was still in shock. Charlie had wrapped his arm around her waist and she laid her head on his shoulder. That should have been Guy. He knew he had thrown away his chance with her. But how could she have moved on so fast? And with one of his best friends?

He knew exactly where to go to get information he wanted. He'd go over to Jesse's later. He had to know something. Hopefully he would be able to get the picture of the two of them together out of his head.

When had this happened? And why hadn't they told him? He would have understood. Yeah, he would be been pissed at first. But that's because his best friend was dating his ex-girlfriend.

XXXX

Julie woke up that afternoon to a cold bed. They had fallen asleep after talking for hours. Where could he have gone? She thought as she walked down the hall. She heard someone downstairs and walked into the kitchen. He sat at the island talking on his cell phone.

"I know mom, I'll be back tomorrow night." He said with a sigh.

Julie ran her hands up his back feeling his tense muscles under her touch. He turned his head to face her and smiled. She smiled back bunching up his shirt to massage the tension in his shoulders. He hung up the phone a few seconds later

"How long have you been up?" She asked laying her chin on his shoulder.

"A few minutes." He said twisting his neck feeling it crack.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I've been working too much, and now I'm paying for it." He said letting his head fall against her shoulder.

"Come with me." She said taking his hand.

She led him into the living room and told him to lay down on the couch after she pulled off his shirt. She straddled his back moving her hands up and down his back. He was starting to relax when she placed a kiss between his shoulder blades. He lifted his head and turned to her. She kissed him lifting herself up so that he could roll over on his back. His hands were in her hair pulling her to him. The phone rang but neither of them pulled away. She heard Jason on the answering machine and she pulled away. She looked at the clock with wide eyes.

"Oh God." She said getting off of him.

"What?" He asked giving her a weird look.

"I was supposed to picked up him and Shannon like…right now."

"Go. I'll be here when you get back." He said getting off the couch.

"Come with me?" She asked putting a hand on his arm stopping him.

He nodded before she went upstairs to change. Ten minutes later they were headed to the airport. She hadn't said much but didn't pull away when Portman took her hand. She looked down at their hands with a smile. She was glad he was there with her. Twenty minutes later they were walking through the airport looking for Jason and Shannon. Julie heard her name being called from far off and she turned and saw Jason.

"Come on." She said pulling Portman with her.

"He won't ask a lot of question's will he?"

"He likes you. Don't worry." She said squeezing his hand.

Jason stopped a few feet from them with Shannon standing behind him.

"Now I know why you were late. Hey Portman." Jason said nodding his head at him.

"Hey." He said glad that he already knew Jason.

"This is Shannon." Jason said moving from in front of her.

"Hi." Julie said smiling at the brunette standing in front of her.

"Hey." She said giving her a weak smile.

"This is Julie and her…Portman?" He asked giving them a questioning look.

"My Portman?" Julie asked laughing. Portman stood there in shock.

"I don't know what else to call him!" Jason said throwing his arms in the air in mock defeat.

"He's my boyfriend." Julie said looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm her boyfriend." Portman said nodding at Jason.

"Okay then. Lets go." Jason said picking up their bags.

"That went well." Julie said as Jason and Shannon walked ahead of them.

"Better than I expected." He said draping his arm over her shoulder.

She was still holding on to his hand that was draped over her shoulder. Jason saw them and rolled his eyes.

"Jules give me the keys."

"You're not driving my car." She said shaking her head at him.

"I'd liked to get to the house in one piece. That won't happen if you can't let go of his hand." He said putting his hands on top of the car.

"Here." She said handing him the keys.

Portman got into the back seat and Julie followed after him. She laid her head on his shoulder as he placed a hand on her knee. Jason watched them from the rear view mirror but neither of them noticed. He was glad his kid sister was finally happy.

XXXX

Connie stood outside Charlie's apartment. Jesse had called her not long after Guy left and told her what was going on. She wished he hadn't found out the way he had, but she couldn't take it back now. Charlie opened the door looking like he had just gotten out of the shower. He hadn't even put a shirt on yet; he had at least thrown on a pair of shorts before he ran to answer the door.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

"Hey." She said returning his smile.

"Come on in." He said letting her inside.

"Guy knows. He was just over Jesse's. He told him he saw us last night." She said folding her arms over her chest.

Charlie stopped in his tracks. That wasn't good. He had planned on going over to Guys' with Connie later to tell him. He hadn't even thought about them being somewhere where Guy could see them last night. He felt bad, but he knew Connie felt worse. She hadn't dated Guy off and on for six years for nothing. Charlie pulled him to her trying to control her sobs.

"He was bound to find out somehow. It's not the way we wanted him to, but we can't take that back now." He said rubbing her back.

"I know, but I didn't want him to find out like this. I should have told him weeks ago." She said against his chest.

"We should have told him weeks ago." He corrected her tilting her chin so she was looking at him.

"It's going to be fine. Yeah, he's pissed now. But he can't stay that way forever."

"But he can make our lives miserable while he is."

"I won't let that happen."

Connie nodded trusting him. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He had always done that. Even when her and Guy were together, he would always team up with Guy to protect her from anyone that was dumb enough to mess with her. She smiled remembering when they were younger. No one would mess with her; she was on a team full of boys. And she had learned how to protect herself at an early age.

XXXX

Guy was standing outside her house when she turned onto her street. She braced herself for the worst. She silently walked up to him but he didn't notice her. She sighed before putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye then hung his head.

"You weren't supposed to find out like that." She said just above a whisper.

"Is that supposed to make me fell better?" He said his voice harsh with anger.

"No." She said letting a tear slip down her cheek.

"You know what will happen. He'll leave you as soon as things get bad."

"No he won't." She said not believing that he would say that.

"He did it with Linda!" He said not able to hold back his anger.

"You don't know what happened. I do." She said glaring at him.

"That's another thing you've kept from me. Why are you keeping things from me?" He said pushing her hand off his shoulder.

"It wasn't my place to tell you about that. It has nothing to do with this."

"He doesn't love you. Do you remember what he said after what happened with Linda?"

"He didn't say that he wouldn't fall in love again. He said he wouldn't be able to trust someone again, there's a difference." She said wishing that Charlie was there.

"You can't love someone if you don't trust them Connie. You know that."

Connie shook her head in frustration. She walked away from him and up the walkway to her house. Her mom was walking down the stairs when she came in.

"Connie, are you all right?" She said wrapping her arms around her.

"No." She said sobbing.

Amanda Moreau sat on the stairs pulling her daughter down with her. Whatever it was, it had to be serious. Connie wouldn't be crying if it were nothing.

XXXX

Portman sat on the bed in one of the guest rooms. He had talked Julie into getting out of dinner tonight so they could do something. He knew it was a long shot but he had to try. They were both shocked when he dad said that it was fine. He looked at his watch as he waited for her to come in. She stood at the door watching him with a smile. She had never seen him this nervous. Ever. And yet there he was in front of her running his hands through his hair like he was twelve and he was going out on his first date.

"Hey." She said walking into the room.

"Hey." He said pulling her down on the bed next to him.

"You ready to go?" She asked looking at him.

"Yeah. Is your dad okay with you not going?"

"I can go out with them anytime. First dates don't happen that often." She said standing up.

She pulled him with her and out of the room. She tossed him the keys knowing that he would want to drive. He tossed the keys back to her with a shake of his head.

"You're turning down the opportunity to be seen driving a hot girl around?" She asked quirking an eyebrow at him.

"I figured I'd give you the bragging rights of having a guy with my good looks in the passenger seat." He said walking around the car.

"You're delusional." She said laughing.

"Would you have me any other way?" He asked as they got into the car.

"No." She said starting the car.

The drive was quiet as they made their way across town. He was right; she did like showing him off. All of her girl friends had been gushing over him since they met him. And now she had bragging rights. She couldn't wait for that. They pulled up to the dinner where she knew her friends would be. It reminded her of Mickey's, only it wasn't a dining car. Everyone got quiet as they saw Julie and Portman walk towards them.

"It won't be that bad. You've met most of them." She said when she saw the scared look in his eyes.

He nodded in response. She was right, he shouldn't be nervous. Her friends liked him; he had met most of them over the past few summers. When they sat down at the head of the table talked resumed as normal. People were asking him how he had been catching up on what had been going on. No one asked if they were together though. That was obvious. It made things easier knowing that her friends accepted him. He just hope that if she ever came to Chicago his friends would be like this.

Everyone left a few hours later telling Julie to bring her boyfriend around more often. She shouldn't be so selfish and stingy. They were sitting out front of her house not wanting to go in.

"I told you they'd like you." She said kissing his cheek.

"I didn't expect that." He said looking at her.

"I didn't either." She said with a smile.

"The only thing left to do is for you to come Chicago." He said taking her hand.

"I can take some time off from work before school starts." She said looking at him.

He smiled nodding his head. They sat on the steps looking up at the stars. Julie was sitting a few steps lower than him and was leaning against him with her arms draped over his legs. Things were going to get stressful when she went away to college. They would be closer, but they would still have at least five states in between them. She wasn't going to think about that now though. She was going to make the most of the time she had with him. They would take things as they came.


	7. Fighting for Love

Chapter Title: Fighting for Love 

**Summary: The summer before college everything changes. But can they handle it?**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them. It's a crying shame.**

**AN: I finally found time to update! But I filled this chapter with drama to make up for it. While I'm at it I thought I'd pass along some information. I was looking through some things over at youtube and I typed in the name Aaron Lohr. I wasn't expecting anything to happen, but somebody was nice enough to upload this off broadway musical that he was in. The picture isn't the best at times, but it's really good. It's called Bare if any of you want to check it out. Anyway, on with the story.**

Charlie stood outside the empty basketball court waiting for Jesse to show up. Jesse had called him and asked him to meet him there. He had to be at work in an hour; Jesse knew that. What was taking him so long? Charlie heard Jesse before he saw him. That was always the case with him. Charlie shook his head watching Jesse skate up the hill while banging his fists against the fence. Jesse stopped a few feet from him but couldn't look at him.

"What's wrong?" Charlie knew from experience that if Jesse couldn't look you in the eye something was wrong.

"You have to promise you won't get mad."

"Is it that bad?"

"Yeah." Jesse said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well then tell me!" Charlie said losing his patience.

"Guy said something to Connie. I don't know what, but it's bad."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

"How?"

"I went over to Guy's but he wasn't there. Then I was on my way to your house when I saw them arguing in the street. I couldn't hear them though."

"Then how do you know what happened?"

"Connie practically ran from him crying. Does that tell you anything?"

Charlie saw red flash before his eyes and tried to control his temper. He knew Jesse was trying to be a good friend and he shouldn't be put in the middle. But it was his own fault for being so damn loyal. He skated away not saying another word. He would have to deal with Guy later. Right now he had to talk to Connie.

Half an hour later he still hadn't talked to her as he walked into the skate shop. Her mom had said that she wasn't talking to anybody. Charlie had even tried to talk Tammy into going over there. But he knew that wouldn't work. Connie would talk to him when she was ready. But he wasn't about to wait around for her. So he did the only thing he could think of. He called Adam.

"You know what you need to do don't you?"

"I need to knock Germaine's teeth down his throat."

"That would work. But that wouldn't make things better."

"Then what oh wise and powerful Yoda?"

"Don't be a smart ass. I'm trying to help you out."

"What should I do?"

"Talk to him, listen to what he has to say."

"See, I like my idea better." Charlie said with a sigh.

Adam was silent for a few minutes before Charlie heard someone come in. He looked up and saw Guy walk in the side entrance.

"Great."

"What?"

"Guy's here."

"You want to come down there?"

"What would you do?"

"I know I'm not Jess or Fulton. But I can back you up."

"I don't know."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

Charlie hung up the phone knowing Adam meant what he said. Charlie had only seen him fight once. And they had been fighting each other at the time. And for what it was worth, Charlie knew Adam was more than capable of backing him up. Guy came up to the counter glaring at Charlie.

"Look man…"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say." Guy said shaking his head.

Nothing else was said as Guy reached his arm back to punch him. Charlie ducked just before Guy's fist connected with his chin. Guy jumped over the counter taking Charlie down with a grunt. The front door opened and Charlie heard someone else jump over the counter. Guy was being pulled off of him as Charlie kicked him in the stomach. Adam was holding Guy back as Charlie stood up.

"Back off Banks." Guy said through clenched teeth.

"I don't think so."

"What did you say to her?" Charlie asked pushing Guy into the wall.

Adam backed off letting Charlie take over. When Guy didn't answer Charlie shoved him into the wall harder.

"I told her the truth. Since no one else will."

"What did you tell her?" Charlie asked again as Banks tossed him a hockey stick.

Charlie put it under Guy's chin and applied pressure.

"You'll leave her when things get hard. I know you will." Guy said trying to push Charlie away.

"You told her that?" Charlie asked applying more pressure.

"Charlie he can't answer you if you cut off his circulation." Adam said being a voice of reason.

Charlie glared at Guy waiting for him to answer him. Guy didn't back down, which only made Charlie even madder.

"I can't believe you." Charlie said backing off.

He slammed the office door making the pictures on the wall rattle. Adam looked over at Guy who was rubbing his neck and staring at the door.

"I'd leave if I were you." Adam said staring at him.

Guy left without saying a word. Adam knocked on the office door hoping Charlie wasn't going to throw something at him. He cracked the door and stuck his head in. Charlie was sitting at the desk with his head in his hands.

"Thanks man, I would have killed him if you weren't here."

"It's not a problem. I'm gonna take off. You all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just gonna try and call her."

"He'll eventually see that you didn't stab him in the back on purpose. Think of it that way."

Charlie nodded picking up the phone. He knew she probably wouldn't want to talk to him still. It wasn't his fault Guy was a psycho. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mrs. Moreau."

"Charlie, she still doesn't want to talk. I'm sorry hon."

"It's okay. I figured I'd try."

"If it makes you feel any better it's not something you did."

"I know. Can you just ask her to call me?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Charlie hung up the phone with a sigh. If things didn't go back to normal soon he was going to loose his mind. Little did he know that things would get worse before they got better.

**AN2: Dun, dun dun… Sorry to leave you guys hanging. But I've got to cut this short. I promise I won't wait a week to update. I'll have another chapter out by the end of the week. Oh and before you guys send me hate mail, I do like Guy. I think he's great actually. But I wanted him to be the bad guy, at least for now. Let me know what you think.**


	8. Seeing Things From a Diferent Perspectiv

Chapter Title: Seeing Things From a Different Perspective 

**Summary: The summer before college everything changes. But can they handle it?**

**AN: I know the last chapter wasn't that great. But it had to be done; it was the first fight scene I've ever written. I'll work on it. But to those of you who reviewed, you are much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Sorry.**

It had been a few hours since Guy had come into the shop. He had called in and quit, he couldn't even come in and do it. It was just as well; Charlie was on the verge of firing him. Things had changed since Jan had turned the reigns over to Charlie for the summer. Charlie wasn't looking forward to explaining why they were short a person when Jan came back. To pick up the slack Fulton had offered to pull extra shifts to help out so Charlie wouldn't have to always do it.

But Fulton hadn't been himself. He was acting weird, even for Fulton. Charlie brushed it off as him missing his two closest friends. Charlie couldn't blame him. If Jesse and Adam weren't there he didn't know what he'd do. And to make matters worse Connie still wouldn't talk to him. He wasn't giving up though. He'd go and see her after work, and hopefully she wouldn't push him away.

"You okay?" Fulton asked shaking Charlie from his thoughts.

"Yeah." Charlie said sweeping up.

Fulton left him alone knowing he wouldn't talk about it. He knew better than to push Charlie. It never ended well; everyone knew that. He wished Charlie would talk to him though. Guy was the only person that would tell him what was going on. The two had formed a bond without realizing it. They had more in common than they thought. Fulton felt bad for the guy, even though he knew he shouldn't. But Guy was just as much his friend as Charlie was. Charlie had to understand that.

Charlie locked up the shop a few minutes later. Fulton went in the other direction as Charlie headed home. He knew where Fulton was going. He was going to Guy's. Charlie couldn't blame him though. Fulton was just like Jesse. He was a great friend to have. He was smarter than people thought. Charlie was always the first one to stick up for him when people would call him on it. Sometimes he would say something before Portman and Julie could. That's just the way he was. And he knew Fulton would always have his back. So he wasn't worried about it.

XXXX

Julie stood in the airport with Portman as they were waiting for his flight to be called. She wished he didn't have to leave. He had just gotten there the day before. No one had ever said this was going to be easy. She reminded herself that it was worth just to see him even if for a couple of days. She felt his hand push a piece of hair out of her eyes and she looked up at him. He pulled her to him and rested his head on top of hers. Neither could break the silence, it would make him leaving harder.

Julie suppressed a sob and felt him tighten his grip on her. She knew he wouldn't want to cry so she kept the tears at bay. She could cry after he left. Right now she was going to make what time they had left together last. She buried her face his neck and took in the smell of his cologne. It filled her senses and she sighed before brushing her fingers across the nape of his neck.

His flight was called but Julie wouldn't let go of him. Portman unwrapped her arms from around his neck and pulled away. He kept his arms around her waist as she leaned up and placed her lips to his. The kiss deepened as they heard people rushing past them. His flight was called again making him groan. Julie was the first to pull away. She gave him a small smile as he picked up his bag.

"No tears." He said pointing at her.

She gave him a sarcastic smile and rolled her eyes.

"That's better." He said pulling her to him one last time.

She laughed as he picked her up off the ground.

"You're gonna miss your flight." She whispered.

"I'm going." He said putting her down.

"Call me when you get home." She said looking into his eyes.

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too." She said with a smile.

She watched him walk away. It would never get any easier. She must be a glutton for punishment. Things would have been easier if she had just told him how she felt in high school. But she hadn't, and now she was paying for it.

XXXX

Fulton watched as Guy sat next to him. Guy hadn't said much, other than how sorry he was. Fulton couldn't believe he had done what he had. Granted he didn't know Guy that well but he had acted totally out of character. The Guy everyone else knew was in there somewhere and Fulton knew it. He would just have to wait around 'til things went back to normal. He could see things from Guy's point of view. He knew he was hurting. You couldn't expect to be the same after the girl you've loved for almost half your life decided to date your best friend.

Guy looked over at him with questioning eyes. He didn't know why Fulton was always around. He just always seemed to be there for him lately. Guy wasn't complaining though, Jesse and Fulton were the only ones talking to him. That just went to show who his real friends were. He hadn't heard from the others since the summer started. Goldberg and Averman had always been closer with Connie. And now he was paying for it. None of the out of state Ducks had called him, except Julie. And even then they didn't talk that much.

He had no one to blame but himself. If he hadn't have pushed Connie to edge they might still be together. But he was stubborn and he wanted to know where he stood. Was that too much to ask? He didn't think so. He liked that Fulton was okay with letting him sulk. Jesse didn't do that. Jesse was constantly trying to get him out of the house, trying to get him to talk to him. That was okay sometimes, but not today. Guy didn't want to deal with Jesse right now. He had probably pushed him away anyway. Jesse had tried to warn him that he would do something stupid. And now he had.

XXXX

Charlie stood outside Connie's bedroom door. He had been walking home and saw her car in her driveway. No one else was home so he knew she wouldn't be able to avoid him. He had been letting himself into the house for years. Even before Guy was aloud to do it. This was his second home. He knocked on the door hoping he wouldn't have to just walk in. He heard Connie on the other side. She opened the door with a sigh.

"What do you want Charlie?" She asked giving him an icy glare.

"I wanted to see you." He said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I made it clear that I wanted to be left alone." She said folding her arms over her stomach.

"I didn't do anything wrong." He said reaching out for her.

"I know you didn't. But what he said hurt. Just give me a few days."

"I wanna talk about this!" He yelled losing his temper.

"Well I don't." She said slamming the door.

Charlie put his hands on the door trying to calm down. He shouldn't have yelled. But he couldn't help it. Why was she pushing him away? He was trying to be there for her. Couldn't she see that? He was scared of losing her, and if he did Guy wouldn't live to play in the Minors. He would give her the space she wanted. But he wasn't happy about it. He walked out of the house with his head hung low. Things weren't supposed to be like this. Why couldn't everyone just leave them alone?


	9. Leaving On a Jet Plane

Chapter Title: Leaving On a Jet Plane 

AN: This isn't a happy chapter. It's running with the theme of the story the last few chapters. I promise things will get better soon.

Connie stared up at her ceiling wishing she hadn't pushed Charlie away. But she had to; she couldn't deal with him right now. He had gone back to being the hotheaded best friend she had always known. And she if had to knock some sense into him she was going to beat him senseless. She wanted to keep him around for a while, so it was best that she stayed away from him. He still hadn't given up on her, so that meant something right? If she had to leave Minneapolis to get away from him she would. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and walked to her closet. Leaving Minneapolis, that wasn't a bad idea.

Half an hour later her mom was standing with her in the airport terminal. Her mom had been skeptical, but she would do anything to make her daughter happy. Connie's flight was called and her mom grabbed hold of her wrist.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I need some time to think. I want be able to do that with him constantly coming around."

"What should I tell him?"

"That I want some space. And not come after me." Connie said before handing the flight attendant her ticket.

Connie sank into her seat with a sigh. She knew she was being a coward, but she didn't care. She knew her problems would still be here when she came back, but she didn't care about that either. Minneapolis became a small speck in her vision before the tears started to fall.

XXXX

Fulton stood behind the counter waiting for Guy to come in. He had said he was coming in to pick up his last paycheck. Fulton just hoped he got here before Charlie came in for his shift. He saw a flash of blonde outside and he sighed in relief when Guy walked in. They talked for a few minutes before Charlie came in through the back. He had seen Guy's motorcycle out front so he figured it was best that he came in the back.

Guy left a few minutes later as Charlie came out of the storeroom. Fulton stared at Charlie as he changed over the cash drawer. There wasn't any easy way to bring up what he needed to talk to Charlie about.

"Charlie?"

"Yeah?" Charlie asked not looking up from the safe.

"Don't you think you should talk to him?" Fulton asked hoping Charlie didn't haul off and hit him.

"He has succeeded in making my life miserable for almost a month now. And you want to forget it ever happened?" Charlie asked standing up.

"Think of it from his point of view. You've been through a bad break up before. You have to know how much he's hurting."

"Linda didn't date my one of my closest friends." Charlie said through clenched teeth.

"Then what did she do? I mean it had to been bad. For you never to talk to her again."

"It's none of your business." Charlie said walking around the counter.

"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone else."

"She cheated on me alright? Are you happy?" Charlie said almost to the point of yelling.

"Man." Fulton said just above a whisper.

"And not with just anybody. But with Scooter; while he was still with Julie. Does that answer your question?" Charlie asked slamming things around on the shelves.

"Holy hell." Fulton said running his hands through his hair.

"Julie doesn't know. So don't tell her."

Fulton dropped the subject wishing Charlie hadn't told him about Linda. But he had asked, so he couldn't take it back. How could somebody hurt someone they claimed they loved like that? And why the hell hadn't Scooter told Julie? It wasn't up to Charlie or him to tell her. He knew Scooter was a chicken shit.

XXXX

Portman stood at the kitchen counter fixing Justin dinner. Justin could be heard in the living room. He had been going through his CD's looking for something to listen to. Portman had to admit, the kid had good taste in music. He had pretty much grown up on Metallica and AC/DC.

"Justin get in here!" Portman called setting the plate on the table.

He heard the opening notes of Back in Black and started nodding his head to the music. Justin came in and sat down without saying a word. The phone rang and Portman made his way into the living room to answer it. He turned music down before grabbing the phone.

"Hello?"

"May I speak to Angela Portman please?"

"She's not here can I take a message?"

"It's important that I speak with her. It's about her daughter."

"What's wrong with Hannah?" Portman asked sounding worried.

"Are you a family member?"

"Hannah's my sister."

"My name is Dr. Hanover, I'm Chicago Memorial Hospital. Hannah was brought in half an hour ago. She was in a car accident. Is there a number where I can get in touch with your mother?"

Dean gave him the number as a million thoughts rushed through his mind. He went on auto pilot trying to get Justin out the front door. He was on the phone with Justin's normal baby-sitter explaining what was going on as they stepped into the elevator. His mom had called as he was trying to find Justin's shoes and had told him to meet her at the hospital. Justin looked up at him with scared eyes.

"Dean, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I just have something I need to take care of little man." Portman said messing up the six year olds hair.

He couldn't tell him the truth. Justin wouldn't understand. Plus he would flip out and start crying and Portman didn't want to deal with that.

XXXX

Fulton sat on a park bench waiting for Guy. He had asked him to meet him after he had got off work. He needed to tell Guy to back off. If he didn't he wouldn't be responsible for what Charlie would do. Guy came walking up the street and sat down across from Fulton.

"What's going on?" Guy said looking at him.

"You're not gonna like what I have to say."

"Just say it man." Guy said giving him a weird look.

"You need to back off Charlie. It's been three weeks. And you're just making things worse."

Guy glared at him not knowing what to say. Fulton wished he would say something.

"Don't give me that look. Just be glad she's with someone you know. You know he won't hurt her. And don't bring up Linda. He had his reasons for doing what he did with her."

"You know?"

"I pushed him a little too far. And he dumped it on me."

"Is it bad?"

"Oh yeah. I can't tell you though."

"You're right. Connie could do worse than Charlie. I should apologize, right?"

"That would work."

"Yeah. I'll see you later." Guy said before getting up to leave.

Fulton watched him walk away thinking that things had gone easier than he had thought. Maybe things would go back to semi-normal soon.

XXXX

Angela Portman stood in the emergency room waiting for word on her daughter. Dean still hadn't shown up and she was getting worried. Where was the damn doctor! She hadn't seen him in half an hour.

"Mom?" Portman asked from behind her.

She turned around and fell into his arms. He held her as she sobbed into his chest. He hadn't seen her like this since his dad died.

"Where have you been?" She asked pushing herself away from him.

"Justin wouldn't let me leave the Mitchell's. I had to pry him off my leg, since when does he do that?"

"You didn't tell him did you?"

"No ma'am."

"Okay good. He must know something's wrong. He's smarter than you think."

They sat down and waited for the doctor. He finally walked out through the doors an hour later. He looked almost scared to talk to them. He asked them to follow him into his office. He shut the door behind them and sat down at his desk.

"Hanna has lost a lot of blood. Luckily we were able to stop the bleeding. But she needs a blood transfusion. And she's broken two of her ribs. She was lucky to be alive. The driver of the other car didn't make it."

"Neither of us are her blood type." Angela said shaking her head forcing herself not to cry.

"That won't be a problem. We need you to fill out some forms giving us consent to do a transfusion."

Angela nodded before telling Dean to start calling everyone. He made his way to the phones figuring he should call his aunt first. She was closest and she could call a lot of people herself. His aunt had told him not to worry about calling anyone else that she would do it. He called Julie next. The phone rang six times before someone answered.

He checked his watch and sighed when he realized it was almost midnight, which meant that it was almost two there. This was important and he really needed to talk to her. So he didn't care.

"Hello?" Julie said groggily.

"Hey." He said sounding tired.

"Dean?" She said sounding more awake than she had a few seconds ago.

"I know it's late, and I'm sorry. But I needed to talk to you."

"What's wrong?"

"Hannah was in an accident." He said with a sigh.

"Is she okay?" Julie asked sounding worried.

"She needs a blood transfusion. And she broke a couple ribs." He said running a hand down his face as he saw his aunt coming down the hall.

"Is there anything that I can do? Do you want me to call Fulton?"

"No. Listen, I'm gonna let you go back to sleep. But I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you too." He hung up the phone with a sigh.

His aunt was standing a few feet away from him watching him.

"So that was the girlfriend I've heard so much about?"

"Yeah." He said giving her a lazy smile.

"You feel better now that you've talked to her?"

"I do. But I'm still frustrated."

"That's normal. I called the Mitchell's, they said Justin could stay there tonight. You should go home and get some sleep."

"No." He said shaking his head.

"I'm not telling you again Dean."

"Yes ma'am." He said feeling like he was four again.

He drove home feeling helpless. He would give anything to trade places with his sister. He was just glad she was okay. If she hadn't been, that whole hospital would have heard about it.


	10. Back to You

Chapter Title: Back to You 

**AN: Two updates in twenty-four hours, I know. Don't get used to it. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging. This is the beginning of the end you guys. Only five more chapters, then it's all over.**

Guy stood outside the door to the shop. He knew Charlie was inside, but so was Jan. He had come back early when he found out Guy had quit. They were setting up a display when they heard the bell above the door. Charlie looked over his shoulder and glared at him. Jan stood between them trying to keep them from going after each other.

"I want to talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to you." Charlie said going back to what he was doing.

"I want to apologize." Guy said above a whisper.

"It's a little late for that. She's gone."

"What?"

"She left yesterday. She didn't want to deal the shit you started." Charlie said finally turning to face him.

"Charlie, let him explain." Jan said putting a hand on Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie sighed nodding his head. He walked out the door holding it open for Guy. He rolled his eyes before jerking his head out the door. Guy followed him hoping he didn't get his ass kicked. Charlie shoved his hands in pockets waiting for Guy to start talking.

"I was a dick we know that. But you didn't make it any better. She left because you wouldn't leave her alone."

"Don't give me that shit. She left because she's scared that what you said will happen. I know exactly why she left."

"We aren't going to get anywhere fighting. Are you going after her?"

"I'm already ahead of you. I know where she is."

"How?"

"I know her better than you do. Remember that." Charlie said glaring at him before opening the door to the shop.

It slammed shut as Charlie went back inside. Guy didn't want to admit it but Charlie was right. Charlie knew Connie inside and out. He knew what made her tick. And up until three weeks she had only been mad at him once. Guy had always been jealous that Charlie was the one that was there for her. Even when they were together she would always go to him. Then she would go to Guy. Why hadn't they gotten together sooner?

XXXX

Portman stood outside the hospital smoking a cigarette. He hadn't smoked in over a year, he only did it when he was stressed. Someone called his name and he looked up seeing Julie come across the parking lot. He had never been so glad to see someone in his entire life. He threw the cigarette to the ground and snubbed it out with his shoe. Julie stopped in front of him and he pulled her to him. They didn't say anything as people rushed past them. Then all of the sudden she pulled away. She poked him in the chest glaring at him.

"Give me the pack of cigarettes." She said holding out her hand.

"Jules."

"You heard me." She said putting her hand on her hip.

Portman didn't move so she reached into the pocket of his jeans for them. She threw them in the trashcan behind him ase rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to see you smoking again. Do you understand me?"

When he didn't answer her she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"You don't fool me. I know you're scared." She said before pulling away.

She stared up at him waiting for him to say something. He shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair.

"What are you doing here?" He said finally finding his voice again.

"You need me. I know won't admit it, but you do. You wouldn't have called me last night if you didn't." She said shrugging her shoulders.

He smiled then shook his head. She was right, he did want her there. But he didn't want to come right out and ask her. That wasn't who he was. He took her hand and led her into the hospital. Once they stepped off the elevator his mom saw Julie and came walking up to them.

"I always knew you were a smart girl." She whispered in Julie's ear as she pulled her into a hug.

Everyone crowded around her pushing Dean out of the way.

"Dean, keep this one!" His aunt yelled from inside the circle.

He smiled and shook his head knowing that his family wouldn't let Julie out of their sight when it came to him.

XXXX

Charlie stood at the ticket counter at the airport waiting his turn. He knew Connie didn't want him to go after her. But he wanted to deal with everything and get her back to Minneapolis. The one time he wants to deal with something and she freaks. That was his thing, not hers! He moved up to the counter and the woman behind it explained to him that the next flight was taking off in half an hour. He bought a ticket and hauled ass across the airport.

An hour later he was in the air hoping Connie appreciated what he was doing. Maybe now she wouldn't doubt him. He slipped on his headphones and turned on his walkman drowning out everything around him. He hated planes, but Connie was worth it.

XXXX

Julie sat next to Portman and put her head on his shoulder. She had broken away from his family not long after they had gone downstairs to eat. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder before kissing his neck. He tightened his grip as he saw his mom give him a warning look. He sighed before kissing her temple. She smiled into his neck making him groan.

"Don't start something you can't finish Gaffney." He said warning her.

"Why? It's fun." She said giving him an evil grin.

"I'm going to forget you said that." He said closing his eyes and banging his head against the wall.

She laughed as she shook her head. Had it really only been three weeks since she had last seen him? It felt like longer than that. And being with him right now was making it harder for her to keep herself together. He ran his hands through her hair making her relax even more against him. Justin sat next to them and Portman knew his mom had sent him. Julie looked over his shoulder and smiled at him. Justin smiled back giving her a toothy grin. She laughed and Portman groaned again.

"Don't encourage him."

"But he's so cute. He looks just like you." Julie said playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Portman sighed knowing Justin was loving every minute of it. The kid turned into a flirt when Julie was around. He constantly wanted to talk to her on the phone, it was more than a little annoying in Portman's opinion. His mom stood a few feet away loving every minute of what was going on. He glared at her as she started laughing. He shook his head wishing he could be alone with Julie.

XXXX

Charlie was the first one off the plane when it landed. He quickly walked out of airport and groaned when he stepped out into the sun. He shielded his eyes with one hand and hailed a cab with the other. He knew Connie would be here; she had to be. Where else would she go? Charlie thought as he got into the cab. He gave the cabbie the address and watched the scenery pass by as he tried to calm himself down. He needed to be calm when he talked to her, he didn't want to blow it again.

The cab stopped outside the apartment complex and Charlie walked up the stairs trying to find the apartment. He stopped in front of the right one and knocked. He could hear someone on the other side and the door swung open.

"Thank God. Get in here, she's driving me crazy!" The person said dragging him into the apartment.

"Chill Russ, I've had to deal with it for three weeks. The least you can do is deal with it for twenty-four hours." Charlie said as Russ pulled him down the hall.

'The things I do for you man." Russ mumbled under his breath as they stopped in front of closed door.

"Connie, I'm opening the door. Don't throw anything at me!" Russ said before opening the door and shoving Charlie in.

He quickly shut the door and waited to hear if they started yelling. If they did he would have to break them apart. And he wasn't looking forward to that. He stared at the door in shock when he didn't hear anything. He put his ear to the door and still didn't hear anything. The door opened suddenly and Charlie poked his head out.

"Go away!" He said shoving Russ away from door.

"Good luck trying to calm her down." Russ said rolling his eyes.

"Go away Russ!" Connie yelled from inside the room.

"I'm going, get a grip Moreau!" Russ said shaking his head.

Charlie shut the door then turned back to her. She stared at him like she couldn't believe he was standing in front her. She was too shocked to say anything to him. Deep down she had hoped that he would come after her. But she would never admit it. Now that he was standing in front her she didn't know what to say. He stood at the foot of the bed looking unsure about what to do. Connie stood and walked over to him. She titled his chin so he was looking at her. He saw the tears in her eyes and wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm sorry." She said above a whisper.

"I am too." He said matching her tone.

"Don't be. I was a bitch. You only wanted to show me that you loved me."

"You're right. I did." He said wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you too." She said knowing that was as close as she was going to get to him saying 'I love you' right now.

It was more than she had expected. He leaned down closing the gap between them. She leaned up brushing her lips against his. He picked her up off the floor and she laughed against his lips. They heard something crash in the hall and pulled apart. Someone knocked on the door and they both sighed.

"You can come in Russ." Charlie said sounding frustrated.

"I don't wanna come in! I just wanted to let know Connie her cell phone rang." Russ said through the door.

Connie giggled before leaning in to kiss Charlie again. She would worry about everything else later. She had a three weeks of being a bitch to make up for.

AN2: There I got them back together. Everybody happy? Great. I wanted to call this chapter something else. But it would have given away where Connie went. Even if it is a song title like the last one, I like my second choice better though.


	11. Learning When to Let Go

**Chapter Title: Learning When To Let Go and When To Hang On**

**Summary: The summer before college everything changes. But can they handle it?**

**AN: I know I haven't updated in forever. I'm sorry you guys. It's kind of hard to update when you can only type with one hand. It would have taken me forever. But I get the stitches taken out of my hand tomorrow. So that means regular updates again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Might Ducks. Okay, so maybe I have Charlie, Portman and Adam. Sue me. I dare you. You won't get a penny, because I'm broke.**

Charlie looked at the sleeping figure next to him. He had tried to sleep, but the plane had hit turbulence and he hadn't been able to fall back to sleep since. Granted it was only a few bumps and shakes but it had freaked him out. He smiled when he saw Connie stir. He wouldn't have to deal with it on his own for long. Connie opened her eyes and looked up at him giving him a sleepy smile. Charlie brushed his fingers across her cheek before going back to reading his book. She placed her hand over his giving it a gentle squeeze before closing her eyes again.

An hour later Connie felt something brush against her shoulder. She opened one eye and saw Charlie holding out a hand to help her up. She looked around the cabin and people were walking down the isle to the exit. She took his hand and let him lead her off the plane. He had both of their bags slung over his shoulder as they made their way through the airport. Jesse was standing outside arguing with a valet about something. Charlie and Connie walked up to him and gave him weird looks.

"He's trying to charge me for parking here!" Jesse said before pointing the sign that said 'Free Parking.'

"This area is for pickup only." The valet said giving Jesse an evil glare.

"Jess lets go." Charlie said pulling Jesse towards his Jeep.

"Sorry." Connie said shrugging her shoulders before following them.

The car ride to Connie's was quiet. Charlie and Connie knew better than to try and talk to Jesse when he was mad. He was twice as bad as Charlie and Connie when you got him started. Luckily he didn't get mad as much as he used to. They pulled up in front of Connie's house and he turned to look at them. The two of them were in the back seat, Connie had her head on Charlie's shoulder and Charlie's head was pressed against the window.

"Okay kiddies, time to get out. I've got to go to work." Jesse said breaking the silence.

Connie sat up and grabbed her bag from the floor. Charlie followed her into the house. It was too quiet, he wasn't used to that. It was never quiet at Connie's.

"My family went to St. Paul for a couple weeks." She said reading his mind.

"I'm not used to being this quiet." He said sitting down at the kitchen table.

He watched her as she made her way around the room. She was going through mail that had been left on the counter. Then she walked out of the room. She came back a few seconds later and stuck her head through the door.

"You coming upstairs? Or are you going to sit in my kitchen?" She asked before heading upstairs.

He shook his head as he followed her upstairs. Something's would never change.

XXXX

Julie stood in line at a coffee cart waiting for Portman. His cell phone had rung as soon as they walked into the airport. He had told her to go ahead and that he would catch up with her. Someone held out a hand to pay for her coffee and she looked up. Portman stood next to her not giving her a chance to object. The vendor took his money and Portman pulled her over to a row of chairs.

She sat next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her to him. They should be better at this, but they weren't. It got harder to leave every time. One of them had to make the first move. But neither of them wanted to.

"I can come and see you."

"You can't miss anymore time from work." She said looking up at him.

"Screw work. If they don't like it they can kiss my ass." He said trying to sound tough.

The truth was that he had had the same job for the past two years. His boss loved him, he thought of him as his son. He wouldn't lose his job.

"You don't have to." She said taking his hand in hers.

"I want to." He said running a hand through her hair.

"Give me some warning this time?"

"What's the fun in that?" He asked giving her an evil smile.

She was glad he was doing better. He had gotten to see Hannah before they left. She was doing better, but it would be a while before she was her old self. She would have to go through a lot of physical therapy. The doctor said she should be fine by the time school started again. Portman just hoped that he was right. Julie's flight was called and she sighed not wanting to leave.

Portman pulled her up and pulled her to him again. They walked to her gate with their arms wrapped around each other. Julie walked up to the line of passengers and looked up at him.

"You go ahead. I know you want to get back."

"I can stay." He said pulling her so that both of her arms were around his waist.

"I love you." She whispered looking up at him.

"Love you too." He said before brushing his lips against hers.

He watched her walked down the hall and turn to get on the plane. She stopped at the last second and smiled at him. He winked back before she got on the plane. He wished she didn't have to leave. But he couldn't ask her to stay. Even if he knew she would drop everything and do stay if he had asked.

XXXX

Connie watched Charlie as they watched a movie in her room. She had lost interest in a few minutes before. She was more interested in the fact that Charlie was drawing lazy circles on her stomach. He had pushed her shirt up without her realizing it. And now his hands were splayed across her stomach. She could feel the heat from him all through out her body. She put her hands on top of his and felt his hand tense.

"Charlie?" She asked just above a whisper.

He looked up at her only to see her pull her shirt over her head. He gave her an unsure look and she nodded before laying back down. She pulled him up by his shirt and he kissed her trailing his hands down her sides. She leaned up long enough to unhook her bra before Charlie pushed her down again. She put her hands between them pushing his shirt up to feel his muscles flex under her touch. This was the farthest they had ever gone. She had wanted to be sure things wouldn't be weird between them before it happened. After he had come to California she knew without a doubt that there was nothing stopping them from taking things this far. She pulled away from him looking him in the eye.

"Do you have anything?" She asked trying to catch her breath.

"Shit, no." He said with a groan.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm on the pill anyway." She said pulling him back to her.

He gave her a questioning look before she pulled his shirt over his head. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he settled on top of her again. He kissed her letting his arms settle at her sides. She ran her hands up and down his back, as their kiss got more intense.

Her hands were between them again before he knew what happened. She pushed his shorts down his hips not bothering to unbutton them. Charlie pulled away making his way down her body.

His hands were splayed across her stomach again as stared up at her. He stared at her in wonder before pulling her skirt down her hips. His boxers were next as made his way back up to her. Her underwear was last before she wrapped her legs around his hips.

An hour later they lay on their sides facing each other. Connie's hair was falling across her shoulders as she pulled the sheet over them. Charlie brushed her hair back over her shoulder before kissing her shoulder. She laughed trying to calm her nerves. She didn't know why she was nervous. This was Charlie, the guy she had known since she was four. And now he knew everything there was to know about her. She hadn't been this nervous after she had lost her virginity to Guy. He looked her in the eye before taking hold of her hand. He placed it to his chest and she could feel his heart beating just under her fingers. She smiled before closing her eyes. She kept her hand where it was as she fell asleep. Charlie pulled her close to him and wrapped his other arm around her before he fell asleep himself.


	12. Unexpected Guests

**Chapter Title: Unexpected Guests**

**AN: I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back now. Expect more updates again. Just to let you guys know, there are only two more chapters after this one. But there is a sequel. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them. **

Connie stared at the phone trying to decide if she should call Julie. She wanted to tell her how well things were going with her and Charlie. But she knew she would be rubbing it in. Julie was taking not having Portman around better now. But Connie always felt bad after she talked to her about Charlie. A knock on her door caught her attention. Her mom was leaning against the doorframe holding an envelope in her hand.

"You got a letter from Julie." She said holding it out for Connie to take.

They had been sending each other a letter every week since school let out. Jesse and Fulton had a habit of using her computer to check their e-mail. Jesse had opened her account by accident and had found an e-mail from Tammy that he shouldn't have read. Luckily he hadn't told Fulton. So they told the juicy stuff through letters.

Connie took the letter and flopped down on her bed. The letter was thicker than the others. _Something must have happened._ Connie thought to herself as she opened the letter. She read the first few paragraphs before picking up the phone. She dialed while still reading.

"Hello?"

"Jules are you okay?"

"You got my letter." She said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. Is Hannah okay?"

"She will be. She fractured her hip and broke two ribs. She pulled a couple tendons in her knee too, but she should be fine by the end of the summer."

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know?"

"He didn't want everybody there. He didn't even ask me to come. I just showed up."

"Is he okay?" Connie asked sounding concerned.

"He is now. But things were tense when I got there."

"He was smoking wasn't he?"

"Yeah." She said sounding distant.

Connie finished reading the letter while they talked. She didn't like the idea that Julie had gone to see Portman under the circumstances she did. But she was glad that she had gotten a chance to see him.

"It was a tense situation in general. I got to meet his family."

"I thought you and Fult had done that already."

"I met his entire family. His cousin Dave is crazier than he is." Julie said with a laugh.

"Well it's good to know that things are better now. Right?"

"Things are good now. Expect another letter before I leave. Then I don't know when I'll be able to write you again."

"You can start e-mailing me again. I just won't let Jesse or Fulton near my computer."

They talked for a few more minutes before Julie had to get off the phone. She didn't tell her that what happened the night before. But she had hinted and that was enough for now. She hated to say it but she wished Julie was there. So she would talk to Tammy about it. She was her friend too. Even if she had been spending a lot of time with Fulton since she had gotten back from California. Connie still didn't understand why her parents had sent her to boarding school.

A few minutes later Connie was walking through Charlie's front door. She heard banging coming from the backyard, which could only mean one thing. She walked out the back door and saw Charlie at the bottom of the stairs. He was kneeling over the railing trying to nail one of the banisters into place. Connie watched him not wanting him to know that she was there. His shirt was on the ground at his feet and sweat was running down his back as he put hammer down on the stairs. He looked over his shoulder then wiped his face with his shirt. He smiled at her as she walked down the stairs.

"Hey." He said reaching for her.

"I don't think so. You stink." She said playfully pushing him away.

"We can change that." He said putting the tools away.

"You can change that. I have nothing to do with it." She said giving him a teasing smile.

"Fine." He said acting like he didn't care.

He brushed past her letting his hand graze her arm. She sighed before following him up the stairs and into the house. He was waiting for her as she walked in the back door.

"I knew you couldn't resist me." He said with a satisfied smile.

"Shut up." She said rolling her eyes.

XXXX

Julie fell onto the couch late that night. It had been a long day. Not only was it her last night at work but she'd gone out to dinner with her dad afterwards. The only time she had sat down other than dinner was when she talked to Connie. But that had been hours ago. She had been going all day and now all she wanted to do was sleep. She closed her eyes planning on not moving from where she was.

Her cell phone rang making her wince. She ignored it trying to tune it out. She would call whoever it was back later. It started again a few minutes later making her groan in frustration. She grabbed it planning to throw it across the room. She glanced at the number and groaned when she saw who it was.

"Dean?"

"Hey."

"Did you call a few minutes ago?"

"No, I was getting ready to hang up."

"It's been a long day. I'm so tired I can't move."

"You can't get up to answer the door?"

"No one's at the door."

The doorbell rang making her jump.

"You sure about that?"

"What did you do?"

"Open the door and find out." He said with a laugh.

She opened the door expecting to see him on the other side. But it wasn't.

"I'll call you back. My other boyfriend is here." She said before hanging up the phone.

"Wait a minute!" Portman yelled catching her attention.

"Yes?" She asked laughing.

"You were joking right?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Julie asked before hanging up the phone.

The person outside gave her a weird look as she opened the door wider.

"Get in here." She said pulling him inside.

"I told him not tell you."

"He didn't. He was distracting me. What are you doing here Fulton?"

"Getting away from the madness that is Charlie and Connie." He said pulling her to him.

"Do I have to go down there?"

"You'd just get dragged into it."

"I'm already in the middle of it." She said putting her head on his shoulder.

"Everybody's avoiding them. They're acting weirder than normal."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since they came back from California they've been different."

"Again I ask what do you mean?"

"They don't argue anymore, they're flirting more. They can't keep their hands off each other. I can't even be around them when they're together."

"You have got to get over your issues." She said rolling her eyes.

"I'm working on it. I've never had a serious girlfriend, you know that."

"I know. Did you say that they couldn't keep hands off each other?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Guy and Connie did that after they… Oh God, they slept together."

"TMI!" Fulton said putting his hands over his ears.

"You know for a guy you're weird. You can sleep with a girl, but yet you can't let them in. I'm confused."

"You're not the only one."

Julie stared at him before falling onto the couch laughing. Fulton gave her a threatening glare before laughing himself. Julie's dad came into the room staring at them. Julie looked up and stopped laughing.

"Dad, you remember Fulton right?"

"I remember him. Hi Fulton."

"Mr. Gaffney." He said before looking at his hands.

"Can he stay?"

"You and Dean really are alike." Her dad said shaking his head.

"Sorry sir."

"You can stay. And don't call me sir, I'm not that old. Call me John."

He walked out of the room without saying another word. Julie knew he wouldn't mind. Portman and Fulton really were alike. She just wished they would have called before coming to see her.

"So why are you really here?"

"I missed you." He said draping an arm over her shoulders.

"I missed you too Fult." She said laying her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I missed your muscles. Just don't tell Portman." She said laughing.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Help me pack? I haven't even started yet."

"Sure."

"How long are you here for anyway?"

"A week."

"Seven whole days huh? That's more than I've seen Dean this summer."

"I promise I won't rub it in."

"He really would get jealous."

Julie stayed awake long enough to get Fulton blankets and pillows. He was going to sleep on the couch. He said he didn't mind, but like Portman his feet hung over the edge. Julie couldn't help laughing when she saw him. He rolled his eyes and groaned at her as she told him goodnight. She was glad had come. He was just what she needed.


	13. No One Ever Said Saying Goodbye Was Easy

Chapter Title: No One Said Saying Goodbye Was Easy 

**AN: Just in case you didn't read the title, this chapter's a sad one. Just thought I'd warn you.**

Disclaimer: Still don't own them. I technically don't own the movies either. But I do have the second one saved in my favorites on youtube. Does that count?

Julie woke early the morning Fulton was supposed to leave. She tossed and turned trying to fall back to sleep before hearing someone in the hall. They knocked on her door before she threw the covers off of her. She sighed as she walked across the room. She opened the door and gave Fulton a frustrated tired look.

"I thought you might be up. Can I come in?" He asked giving her a sheepish grin.

"I guess. What are you doing up so early? You were on the phone until one with Tammy."

"Your dad woke me up when he left." He said walking into the room.

He sat at her desk looking around the room. He had spent a lot of time in this room since he had known Julie. She had always made sure that he and Portman came to see at least once during the summer since they had met. The room had changed over the years. The hockey posters had been replaced with pictures of places neither of them had ever been. Places Julie had said she wanted to see when she got older. She had filed the room with pictures of the Ducks. She even had a few of Terry. The kid hated having his picture taken. She had caught him off guard over Christmas a few years ago and taken a picture of him and Jesse. He still didn't know she had taken it.

Fulton saw a group of pictures on her nightstand that she hadn't packed away yet. He walked over to them and picked one of them up. It was a picture of her and Portman taken over Spring Break the year before. Julie was on his back with her head thrown back laughing while Portman looked over his shoulder at her with a grin on his face. Fulton had never seen the picture before. He figured Julie would want to take it to California so he put it in a box by her nightstand.

Julie had her back to him and didn't see him watching her. She was holding something close to her chest, but he couldn't see what it was. She looked up and sighed holding up a Metallica t-shirt. She gave him a week smile before throwing it in the laundry basket.

"Portman's?"

"You think it's mine?" She asked giving him a sarcastic smile.

"Good point." He said getting back to putting pictures in the box.

Things were quiet for a little while longer. The phone ringing broke the silence. Julie flopped on the bed to reach for the phone on the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey." She said with a smile on her face.

"Fulton's in the room isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"I need to talk to him."

"You don't want to talk to me?" She said giving Fulton a weird look.

"I do. I just need to talk to him first."

"Okay." She said handing Fulton the phone.

Julie left the room knowing that whatever Portman had to tell Fulton had to be important. She went downstairs to make breakfast pushing the nagging feeling she had out of her mind.

XXXX

Connie stood at the gate to the schoolyard watching Charlie, Jesse and Averman play hockey. It was hard to believe that things would drastically change in less than a week. Charlie was leaving in five days to go to Canada. Connie still didn't understand why he refused to go to college before trying to start in the minors.

"Fulton's going. I've been talking about this for years. You know that. I have a chance to do this and I'm taking it." He had told her the other day.

"You're going to wish that you had gone if this doesn't work out."

"If it doesn't work out I'll go to college."

"Do you promise?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"You never have before."

She pushed the conversation out of her head as she felt something hit her leg. She looked down at her feet and saw Averman's shoe at her feet. Averman was wildly shaking his head and pointing at Jesse.

Connie walked over to them and handed him back his shoe. Charlie gave her a questioning look before she smiled at him reassuringly. She didn't know how to get through to him. Jesse and Adam were leaving at the end of the month to start college. Jesse couldn't even get through to Charlie. And if he couldn't, then no one could.

"I'm gonna take off you two. I need to talk to Connie." Charlie said sitting next to her to take off his skates.

'_Maybe he's changed his mind after all.'_ Connie thought as they walked through the gate in silence. Charlie took her hand and they fell into a steady rhythm. They turned onto their street and Charlie stopped in front of his house.

"Do you want to come in? It would be easier that way." He said sounding unsure of himself.

"Sure." Connie said sounding nervous.

Charlie sat down on the couch puling Connie down to sit next to him. Connie had no idea what was going on, but she hoped she wouldn't end up crying. Things never ended well when she cried.

"Things won't be easy you know that right? I mean we're having issues already. The last thing I would want to do is hurt you." He said reaching out to pull her to him.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Connie asked flinching away from him.

"No, I'm not. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. The way you're acting is freaking me out." She said with a sigh.

"Come here." He said pulling her to him.

Connie crawled into his lap as he ran his hands through her hair. He took in her scent wanting to remember her this way. She didn't let her guard down often. And it was usually around him or Julie. He had never heard of her letting it down for Guy. She had learned to a tough fighter and to never let anyone in after her dad left not long after they joined the Ducks. Her mom had remarried a few years ago; even now she still had trouble letting people in. Her muffled sobbing took Charlie off guard. She pulled away making herself stop crying before it got out of hand.

"If you tell anyone I cried I will break up with you."

"I'll keep that in mind." He said brushing her tears away.

XXXX

Julie stood at Fulton's gate waiting for his flight to be called. He had yet to tell her what Portman had talked to him about. It was starting to eat at her not knowing what was going on. Fulton had told her she would find out when Portman was ready for her to find out. And that if she bugged him again he would tell Connie that she had turned into a lovesick fool.

"You would not."

"Bet me."

"Fine, I'll leave you alone." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"You sure you don't need me to fly out with you. You're gonna need somebody to help you with everything."

"Jason, Kenny, and Russ are helping me. I should be out there in a few days."

"Things will work out. You know that right?"

"Yeah. I'm just frustrated. He doesn't normally keep things from me."

"It'll be fine." He said bumping her shoulder with his.

Julie smiled up at him as his flight was called. She wrapped her arms around him preparing for what she knew was coming. He picked her up off the floor and brought her to his level. She buried her face in his neck stifling a laugh.

"Take care Catlady." He said looking her in the eye.

"You too Fulty." She said knowing he hated being called that.

He let it slide then put her down. She watched him walk away wondering when she would see him again. She would have to set some time aside over Christmas break to go to Minnesota. She would miss everybody too much if she didn't.

**AN2: I wanted to put more in this chapter. But I realized it would be almost twenty pages if I kept going. So I split it into two. You'll find out what Dean told Fulton in the next chapter. I wanted to keep you guys hanging. I've got to keep you coming back somehow. In the meantime, hit that little purple button. Pretty please? I'll give you a cookie.**


	14. Sometimes Things Don't Turn Out

Chapter Title: Sometimes Things Don't Turn Out The Way You Plan

AN: I won't give too much away for this chapter. But something big does happen in this chapter.

Connie looked around her room in wonder. All of her boxes were downstairs in Fulton's truck waiting to be taken to Connie's dorm room. Connie wished Charlie could be with her but he had found out that he had to go to Canada to try out for a team who's name Connie couldn't remember. She wanted to be happy for him, she really did. But she couldn't help but feel like she was being cheated out of having a real relationship with him. She'd see him less than Julie saw Portman. She didn't know if she could do that to herself. She was going to be starting college in less than a week and she didn't want to always worry about Charlie and how he was doing.

Fulton stood against her doorframe watching her. He hadn't known her as long as Charlie, Guy and Jesse had but he figured he knew her well enough to know something was wrong. He didn't know how bring things up when it came to her. She was known for being a loose cannon if you said something she didn't like. Connie saw him staring at her and she gave him a weak smile. He walked into the room and Connie wrapped her arms around his waist. Fulton rubbed her back not knowing what else to do.

"You'll look after Charlie won't you?" Connie asked looking up at him.

"So that's what's wrong." He said nodding his head.

"Yeah." She said giving him another weak smile.

"He doesn't need me to look after him. He can look after himself."

"I know. But it would make me feel better knowing you had his back."

"I can do that."

"Thanks Fult." She said with a sigh.

Connie had always been the one that everybody could depend on to be strong. Truth be told she was only like that because Guy had needed her to be that way. She loved the guy to death, a part of her always would. But he could be insecure when he wanted to be. She didn't have to be strong with Charlie. He accepted her for who she was.

XXXX

Julie was doing the same thing Connie was almost a thousand miles away. She didn't have anyone to reassure her that things would be okay though. Her dad was out of town and wouldn't be home until the day before she had to leave. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. These would be the last few days that she would be in this house for longer than a couple of weeks. And her dad couldn't tell his boss that he needed time off. That had been happening a lot lately.

To make things worse she hadn't talked to Portman since Fulton left. Every time she tried to call him he wasn't home or he was sleeping. There was no way he was sleeping eighteen hours a day. Something was going on and Julie wanted to find out what it was.

XXXX

Portman stood outside the house he had lived in for almost his entire life. Things were going to change and he knew he was ready for them. He was taking a chance on something he believed in. His mom understood what he was doing and had said that she would support whatever he decided to do. That was the beauty of having a single mom. She was willing to put all of her faith in her oldest son not knowing what the outcome of things would be. He needed to thank her for all the things she had done for him. He didn't do that enough.

XXXX

Charlie stared out the plane window wishing that the plane would hurry up and land. The last time he had been on a plane Connie had been with him. Why hadn't he asked her to come with him? Because she was moving her things into her dorm room this weekend. He wanted to be there helping her, he hoped she didn't overreact when he told her what he had found out while he was in Canada.

The plane soon landed and Charlie was the first person off. He looked through the crowd for anybody he knew.

"Spazway!" Someone yelled getting his attention.

Charlie jerked his head in the direction he heard the noise from and saw Bombay coming towards them.

"You are the last person I thought would ever call me that." Charlie said smiling at his former coach.

"I had to call you that at least once." Gordon said picking up the bag Charlie had dropped.

They talked about everything that had happened since graduation and how everyone was doing.

"You and Connie are together? Is Guy okay with that?" Gordon said pulling out of the Airport parking lot.

"He wasn't at first. Now he is."

"And Portman and Julie finally got together huh?"

"Yeah. After all the times the Ducks tried to get them together they got together on their own." Charlie said with a chuckle.

"I always told you guys to leave them alone."

Charlie didn't respond, he just looked out the window.

"So what happened in Canada?" Gordon asked not looking at Charlie.

"What makes you think something happened?" Charlie asked getting defensive.

"You would have mentioned it already if it was bad."

"It's not bad. I just want Connie to be the first person to know."

XXXX

The night before Julie left for California was filled with a lot of tears and words she didn't mean. She had confronted her dad about how he had been acting. He had always been there for her. When she asked what had changed he been honest and told her he wished she wasn't going to college so far away. He had waited until the last minute to tell her. Going to UCLA had been her dream since she started High School. Jason had gone there, and her dad didn't have a problem with that. They had fought half the night about how he was being controlling and overprotective.

She lay in bed the next morning wishing she hadn't brought it up at all. She wished she could talk to Portman about what was going on. But he was still AWOL. She was going to a serious talk with him when she talked to him again. It had been a week since she had talked to him. Not being able to talk to him was starting to worry her.

XXXX

Charlie stood outside Connie's house looking up at the house that he had spent over half of his childhood in. He wanted to take a mental picture of it so he wouldn't forget it. He had a feeling Connie would never talk to him again when she found out what he had to say.

He walked to the door and knocked before walking in. That's how he had always come in. No one had ever told him he couldn't. To be honest all the Ducks did that. He heard someone in the living room so he walked down the hall to the room. Connie was lying on the couch talking on the phone. She saw Charlie come in and she smiled at him. She sat up letting him sit down then she laid her head in his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair trying to find the right words to say. Connie hung up the phone a minute later then looked up at him. When he didn't say anything she knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" She asked closing her eyes.

"I found out something while I was in Canada." Charlie said sounding unsure of his self.

"What?" Connie said as her eyes flew open.

"If I want to get drafted by the team I want I have to be up there by next weekend."

"That's okay. You'll come and see me whenever you can right?"

"Yeah."

"The way you were acting I thought it was something serious. Don't you ever do that to me again Charlie Conway!" She said smacking him in the chest.

Charlie pulled Connie close to him then started laughing. He had worried over nothing. Maybe Jesse and Fulton were right. Maybe he did make things worse than they were. He'd work on that.

XXXX

Julie was loading the last of her bags in the car as her dad came out of the house. He walked over to her and pulled her to him. There were so many things she wanted to say to him. But she couldn't make herself say them. They stood in the driveway holding each other until her dad checked his watch.

"If we don't leave now you'll miss your flight." He said looking her in the eye.

Julie nodded not trusting herself to talk. She didn't want to cry, she had done enough of that last night. Her dad knew she hadn't meant what she had said without her telling him. She didn't know how he knew, but he did. She watched the scenery pass by as they drove down the highway. It wasn't long before they were at the airport. Julie hugged her dad at the gate not wanting to let go. Her dad pulled away once her flight was called.

"Call me when you get there." He said before she walked away.

She nodded picking up her carry-on bag. She walked away with tears threatening to spill out. She got on the plane thinking about memories that she had of her dad and Jason. Some happy, some sad. Had she made the right decision?

XXXX

Portman stood at the gate hoping things would go as he planned. He knew she hated surprises. She could just as vicious as Connie when it came to someone surprising her. She was one of the last people off the plane. He smiled when he saw her.

Julie looked through the crowd of people gathered around her gate. Russ had said that he would come and get her. Where was he? She kept looking until she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes met with his and her eyes widened in surprise. Portman made his way to her and pulled her to him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked staring up at him.

"I wanted to surprise you. You're not mad are you?"

"For surprising me? No. For not returning my calls for the past week? Hell yeah I'm mad!" She said teasing him.

He laughed as he draped an arm over her shoulders. They walked to the baggage claim talking about things that had been going on.

"So how long are you here for?" She asked as they waited for a cab.

"That's part of the surprise. I live out here now. I'm living with Russ and his brother until I can find a place."

"Are you serious?" Julie asked dropping her bags and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I had to do something. Not seeing you was making me crazy." He said lifting her off the ground.

"What about school?"

"I'll go to Junior College for year. Save up some money and apply next year."

"I love you. You know that?" She whispered as she put her forehead to his.

"I love you too." He said before kissing her.

Someone cleared their throat from behind Portman. Julie pulled away and buried her face in his shoulder. Portman sighed as Russ stood next to him.

"Sorry. I'm double parked, lets go."

"I hate you, you know that?" Julie said glaring at him.

"Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy. I couldn't let you two take a cab. Come on."

Russ didn't say anything during the car ride to UCLA. He knew better than to say anything. Portman would more than likely rip his head off if Julie didn't smack him first.


	15. A New Start

Chapter Title: A New Start (Epilogue) 

AN: You guys get two chapters in less than twenty-four hours. I wanted to start the new story next week and I won't have time to it do this weekend. Hope you guys like it.

Charlie didn't want to leave Connie without letting her know the whole truth. He had lied to her and he knew she would more than likely kill him when she found out. When he had gone over to her house the other day he had planned on telling her everything. But when she had been relieved and not mad at him he didn't have the heart to tell her everything. He made his way up the stairs to her dorm room. She had said she wanted to be settled in before classes started.

He had hoped he would have thought of something to say on his way up the stairs. So far he had nothing. He stood outside her room still debating if he should knock.

"Charlie?"

Charlie turned his head and saw Tammy walking towards him.

"You're in this building too?" He asked acting like nothing was wrong.

"No. I live in Alden Hall. Connie's not there, she went to see Jesse." Tammy said standing next to him.

"Oh, I'll come back then." He said starting to walk away.

"Okay." Tammy said nodding her head.

Charlie made it to the top of the stairs before Tammy called his name again. He turned to face her and she gave him a worried look.

"Try not to forget who your real friends are when you get to Canada."

"I won't." He said giving her a reassuring smile.

XXXX

Julie had almost unpacked all of her things by the time her roommate got to the room. Her name was Karen and she seemed nice, a little shocked that she was rooming with Julie though. She had been a fan of the Ducks ever since the Goodwill Games. Julie hadn't met any fans in a while. It was nice, hopefully the girl wouldn't give Julie special treatment.

"So are any of the other Ducks here?"

"Kenny goes here. And you knew Russ is from here right?"

"I've met Russ. He's the only I've met. And Kenny Wu goes here? No way! He's my favorite."

"I'll introduce him to you sometime."

"Thanks." Karen said smiling in appreciation.

"Portman lives around here too."

"That's cool. So you're still friends with them?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get rid of them if I tried." Julie said being sarcastic.

They talked for a little while longer before they had to be at orientation. She saw Kenny wave her over to where he was. He had saved her a seat. She saw Karen out of the corner of her eye and waved.

"Who's that?" Kenny said noticing Karen.

"My roommate."

Kenny nodded as the Dean started to give his speech. Julie tuned him out after he had said welcome for the twentieth time. She could deal without long-winded speeches. She'd dealt with that enough with Dean Buckley.

Kenny nudged her bringing her out of her thoughts. The Dean was done speaking and everyone was heading towards the exit.

"Why didn't you do that after the Dean was through?"

"I didn't realize you had spaced out. You were supposed to take notes. Here." He said handing her his notebook.

"What would I do without you?"

"I have no clue. You've been spending too much time with Portman. You're turning into him."

"You should talk Baby Bash Brother." Julie said playfully pushing him.

"You have a point." He said giving her a sly grin.

Julie was glad that Kenny was there with her. She didn't know if she had to go through it alone. She needed someone to vent to when the Professors or one of the Frat Boys got on her nerves. She was glad that Connie had Tammy and Jesse to lean on when things got too hard. And with Portman with her things would be more bearable.

XXXX

Charlie had been trying to call Connie for the past half an hour. He would

pick up the phone and dial the first six digits before hanging up the phone again. He had the phone in his hand when it rang. He jumped three feet in the air before sighing in frustration.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey Cons."

"Tammy said you stopped by earlier."

"I did. I needed to talk to you."

"You can still come over if you want." She said sounding worried.

"I can be there in half an hour."

"Okay, come on over. Is everything okay?"

"I have something I need to tell you."

Charlie hung up before Connie could ask him if anything was wrong again. He had told her he needed to tell her something. That threw up a warning flag for her. What could he have to tell her? She hoped it wasn't about Canada. If she heard the word Canada ever again she would scream. She had spent half an hour consoling Tammy because she thought her relationship with Fulton was over.

Connie had finally calmed her down and convinced her to call Fulton to talk things out. Even if she didn't think that was the best thing to do it was all she could think of. Maybe she could talk Jesse into coming over. That way if it were bad she would have someone between her and Charlie if she came after him. She hoped that wouldn't happen though.

XXXX

Portman stood outside of Julie's building waiting for her. He had promised her that he would her there after her orientation. He saw her walking across the quad with Kenny. Julie saw him and she smiled in greeting. Kenny waved at him before walking off.

"Hey." She said before kissing him.

Portman wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her to him. She pulled away from the kiss and rested her head on his chest.

"How bad was it?"

"I don't remember much. I tuned everything out twenty minutes in."

"That's my girl."

"We actually had to take notes. I've gotta copy Kenny's later."

"You've got time for me don't you?" He asked tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Always." She said before pulling out of his reach.

"Come on." He said knowing what she wanted.

Julie jumped on his back and he grabbed hold of her legs. She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed. He turned his head to look at her before brushing his lips against hers.

"I love you." She said smiling at him.

"I love you too." He said as he started walking back to her room.

XXXX

Charlie ran into Jesse as he was walking into Connie's building. Charlie gave him a weird look when he stopped outside Connie's room too.

"You've made her paranoid. Thanks a lot!" Jesse said rolling his eyes.

Connie opened the door and they both walked in. Connie sat on her bed and Charlie sat at her desk. Jesse stood in between them fearing the worst.

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Connie asked folding her hands in her lap.

"Jess could you go outside? If you hear her screaming you can come in."

Jesse didn't have to be asked twice. He was out the door before Connie could protest. Charlie didn't want to get too close just in case she started swinging. Connie sighed in frustration before glaring at him. Why was he stalling?

"I didn't tell you everything that happened in Canada. You were so happy the other day I didn't have the heart to tell you."

"What didn't you tell me?" Connie asked gripping the edge of her bed.

"I won't have any time to see you for the first three months that I'm in Canada."

"Why?" She asked giving him a weird look.

"Because I'll be coming in the middle of their training season."

"And you can't come on the weekends?" She asked folding her arms over her chest.

"Connie you how important this is to me." He said hoping she would understand.

"And I'm not important?" She asked rising from off the bed.

She crossed the room and opened the door. Jesse was sitting on the floor across the hall. He stood up knowing something was wrong.

"Get out Charlie." She said not looking at him.

"Connie--" Jesse said trying to reason with her.

"Don't stand up for him!" She said glaring at him.

Charlie stood frozen where he was. Connie looked him in the eye and he winced when he saw the fire there.

"I said leave." She said jerking her head on the door.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. It was like he was walking in quicksand as he walked out of the room. Connie shut the door behind him locking it to make sure Jesse didn't try to come in. She stood against the wall for support. She should have expected this. Hockey had always been the most important thing in Charlie's life. She had hoped she would fit in somewhere too.

It was dark when she finally pulled herself together. She heard someone knock on her door pulling her from her thoughts. She ignored it and moved to lie on her bed.

"Connie? Open up." Tammy said from the other side.

"Now's not a good time Tammy. I don't want to talk to anybody."

"I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Fulton. You were right."

Great. Fulton can commit to a long distance relationship but Charlie couldn't? What was going on?

XXXX

"You told hockey was more important than her? Are you crazy?" Jesse asked giving Charlie a scared look.

"I couldn't lie to her."

"You should be lucky she didn't kill your ass! She must really love you." Jesse said shaking his head.

"I know she does."

"Look, give her a few months. You'll be home for Christmas right?"

"I had planned on it."

"Leave her alone until then. By then maybe she'll talk to you. And that's a big maybe!" Jesse said still not believing what had happened.

Jesse was right. Charlie would leave her alone for a couple months. Let things cool down, and then maybe she would talk to him again. But could he live without her until then?

**AN2: Okay, that's the end of this one. I should have the new one started Monday or Tuesday. I don't want to keep you guys hanging too long. Take care.**


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